Dossier of Slain Investigator

In 2012, Paulo Magalhães, a Brazilian lawyer, retired police officer, university professor and head of the Non Governmental Organization Brazil Truth, was investigating the murder of journalist Paulo Recaro. Magalhães was part of a special unit that was looking into organized crime and government corruption when two men pulled up next to him on a motorcycle and opened fire. He was struck 13 times and killed.

The investigation into the crime and the circumstances have been ongoing since then and new evidence could be set to emerge. It is being reported that a dossier prepared by Magalhães with complaints against judges and members of the prosecution is currently being reviewed by the Civil Police. He had delivered it to the Brazilian National Council of Justice (CNJ) prior to being killed because he feared a possible attack.

Delegate Edilson de Oliveira, who heads the investigation of the murder, spoke about the state of the investigation.

“If the information provided by the CNJ are consistent with the investigation, we will include it,” Oliveria said.

At the time of his death, Magalhães was investigating allegations of corruption in the upper echelons of power in Mato Grosso do Sul. The dossier contains information on CNJ cases that had already been filed and prosecuted and revealed illegal acts. Some of them he presented during a speech at a public hearing of the Council in 2010 in the Capital.

During the session, Magalhães cited the crimes of embezzlement, malfeasance and extortion by public authorities in cases that were undergoing judicial proceedings in the state. Time will tell how this dossier will factor into the investigation and what other key pieces of information it holds.