Marielle case: TJRJ drops secrecy of complaint against former firefighter Suel

The Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ) overturned this Friday (4) the secrecy of the complaint in which former firefighter Maxwell Simões Correia is accused of leading a criminal organization that exploited clandestine pay-TV and internet services. , popularly called “gatonet”. Arrested last week, he would work in partnership with former military police officer Ronnie Lessa, appointed as executor of the death of Rio de Janeiro councilor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes.

On March 14, 2018, the car in which Marielle and Anderson were was shot at from another vehicle, a silver Cobalt. Suel, as the former firefighter is known, is also being investigated for involvement in the murder.

The complaint was filed by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) after the testimony of former military police officer Élcio Queiroz. Jailed along with Ronnie Lessa since 2019, he is accused of being the driver of the silver Cobalt during the execution of Marielle and Anderson. Last month, he acknowledged his participation in the crime and closed a plea bargain. In the midst of his account of what happened, Élcio Queiroz detailed Suel’s involvement and also the clandestine businesses in the neighborhood of Rocha Miranda, in the north of Rio.

“In Ronnie’s case, it was more within Jorge Turco’s community. All the asphalt, all the streets there and some slums belong to Maxwell. Most of it is Maxwell’s, only a part was Ronnie’s.”

he said.

According to the MPRJ complaint, the “gatonet” services would be commanded by Suel and Ronnie Lessa and there would be four others involved. Among them is Maxwell Simões Correia Júnior, son of the former firefighter. Also denounced are Sandro dos Santos and Welington de Oliveira Rodrigues, known as Manguaça. The last person involved would be Jorge Vicente da Silva Neto, now deceased.

Suel’s wife, Aline Siqueira, was not identified as a participant in the business, but was denounced for money laundering. A Land Rover vehicle was placed in her name, which would have been purchased with funds from the “gatonet” operation, in the amount of R$ 213,000.

The TJRJ accepted the complaint and complied with the MPRJ’s request for preventive detention of the participants in the scheme. Suel was arrested last week, and Manguaça, in an operation carried out together with the Federal Police this Friday morning. Maxwell Simões Correia Júnior and Sandro dos Santos were not found and are considered fugitives. Ronnie Lessa was already in custody.

The secrecy of the complaint was overthrown at the request of the MPRJ, after the operation carried out this Friday morning. In addition to the arrest in Manguaça, search and seizure warrants were executed at addresses linked to Suel. One of the targets was a shed in Bairro Lins de Vasconcelos, in the northern part of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, where activities related to the clandestine “gatonet” service would take place.

The Land Rover that is in Aline’s name was seized in the operation. Movements of Suel’s wife have also been analyzed in investigations involving the murder of Marielle and Anderson. Recordings held by the MPRJ show that she went to Ronnie Lessa’s house six days after the crime and spoke to the former military policeman’s son through the condominium’s intercom.

“I wanted to talk to your mother. I wanted to ask her for help. It’s a moment of desperation of mine, so I’m asking if I could talk to her. Don’t tell your father that I’m not here. Just tell your mother. Can you write down my phone number?”

she asks.

Marielle

According to Élcio Queiroz’s denunciation, Suel went so far as to carry out campaigns to find out about Marielle’s routine. Initially, he would be the driver. The former firefighter reportedly even drove the vehicle in a failed attempt to commit the crime.

“This woman would be in a taxi and she had an opportunity. But when Ronnie ordered it to pair, the car had a problem. Ronnie vented to me, saying that he didn’t believe there was a problem, that it was fear, he refused. Maxwell balked at the moment. His role was to drive, Ronnie’s would be the shooter”

he said.

According to Élcio Queiroz, there was still a third person in this failed attempt: Military Police sergeant Edimilson Oliveira da Silva, known as Macalé. He was executed in 2021. The whistleblower, who claims to be unaware of who ordered Marielle’s murder, says that Macalé was the intermediary of the crime.

In the denunciation, Élcio Queiroz also details Suel’s involvement in the days after the crime. In his version, he was tasked with taking the silver Cobalt to a cut-off.

In 2021, Suel had already been sentenced to four years in prison for hindering investigations into the murders of Marielle and Anderson. He was accused of helping Ronnie Lessa hide his weapons. However, he had been serving his sentence in an open regime. After being arrested last week, the TJRJ ordered his transfer to a maximum security federal prison outside the state of Rio.

Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz are imprisoned in a closed regime. They will be taken to the popular jury. The benefits of Élcio Queiroz’s plea bargain agreement are kept confidential. The MPRJ even released a note stating that no reduction in sentence is foreseen. The information provided by the former military police officer is being used in new investigations aimed at revealing the mastermind of the crime.

*With information from Agência Brasil

Read more:

Mother of murdered pregnant woman demands justice at her daughter’s wake, “She didn’t deserve it”

In a letter, researchers defend worldwide surveillance against arboviruses

CPMI authorizes Anderson Torres’ telephone breach and will hear it this Tuesday