Capitão Guimarães

Ailton Guimarães Jorge, better known as Capitão Guimarães, is an illegal lottery operator (bicheiro) and the patron of samba school Unidos do Viradouro. He has been the president of the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (LIESA) from 1987-1993 and 2001-2007.

Army captain

Capitão Guimarães is a former army captain involved in torture during the military dictatorship of Brazil (1964-1985). [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/world/americas/07brazil.html Brazilian Numbers Game Ties Officials to Mobsters] , The New York Times, June 7, 2007] He operated out of Section II (Intelligence) of the Army Police in Rio’s Vila Militar, a unit that, like all of the dictatorship’s torture squads, received substantial rewards for capturing or killing left-wing militants.pt icon [http://200.150.209.181/templates/colunaMostrar.cfm?coluna_id=3567 Ex-torturador é chefão da máfia do bingo] , by Celso Lungaretti, Carta Maior, April 23, 2007; for an English translation, see: [http://cbrayton.wordpress.com/2007/04/28/carnage-and-carnival-the-curious-career-of-captain-guimaraes/ Carnage and Carnival: The Curious Career of Captain Guimarães] ]

He also got involved in contraband activities. The scheme was discovered and Guimarães and his gang were arrested. During their trial the gang members claimed the confessions had been extorted from them. Most of them said that after being beaten they had signed the confessions without reading them. In May 1979, the 21 accused were found innocent. In appeal the case was thrown out, ironically on the grounds of torture. But Guimarães’ military career had been compromised and he resigned from the Army.

Bicheiro

After his army career he got involved in the Jogo do Bicho (the “animal game”), a very popular illegal lottery. He started out as a manager for the bicho banker Guto, who controlled four cities in the state of Rio. After the mysterious disappearance of Guto, the chief bicheiro Tio Patinhas gave Guimarães Guto’s bank. Within three years Guimarães gained a seat on the council of seven major bicho bankers, publishing the minutes of the meetings, adjudicating the territory of smaller bankers. His territory extended from Niterói north to Espirito Santo.

Following the example of his peers, he sought social legitimacy by patronizing the Unidos de Vila Isabel carnival society and became the top man in the Rio Carnival, presiding over LIESA. Rich and famous, he dressed like a Christmas tree, with brightly coloured clothes and gold chains. He became one of the best-known leaders of organized crime in Rio.

Arrest and conviction

Capitão Guimarães was found guilty by judge Denise Frossard in 1993 of involvement in the Jogo do Bicho, along with 13 other bicho bankers such as Castor de Andrade. They were found responsible for at least 53 deaths. They were sentenced to six years each, the maximum sentence for racketeering..pt icon [http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2007/04/13/295347828.asp Contraventores já foram condenados há 14 anos] , O Globo online, April 13, 2007] But in December 1996 they were all back on the streets, granted parole or clemency.

After the death of Castor de Andrade in 1997, Antonio Petrus Kalil, alias Turcão, and Capitão Guimarães became the most important "bicheiros" in Rio.pt icon [http://www.terra.com.br/istoe/semana/143831b.htm Capitão ou Turcão?] , April 23, 1997] "He’s the one who brought an organizational sense and structure to the game," judge Frossard said about Guimarães. "He also encouraged the group to try to capture the state, at all three levels of government and all three branches, instead of just paying off the police" according to Frossard, who has been the target of assassination attempts that she attributes to hired guns in the pay of game kingpins.

New arrest

Capitão Guimarães, at the time president of the Independent League of Samba Schools, was among 24 people arrested on April 12, 2007, for alleged involvement with illegal numbers games, bingo parlours and the distribution of slot machines. [http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2007/04/13/brazil_police_crack_down_on_gambling/ Brazil police crack down on gambling] , Associated Press, April 13, 2007] Raids by the Federal Police have uncovered big payoffs to judges, police officers, prosecutors and lawyers from the bosses who run the game. Mounds of documents have been seized and US$6 million in cash has been confiscated. The raids were part of a major police operation, dubbed Operation Hurricane. Among the 25 arrests were fellow bicheiros Anísio Abraão David and Antonio Petrus Kalil.pt icon [http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2007/04/25/295505056.asp Hurricane, a maior operação da PF de combate à corrupção do Brasil] , Globo online, April 26, 2007]

Authorities considered Capitão Guimarães to be the animal game’s boss of bosses. At a court hearing he said that he was active in the animal game only between 1982 and 1993 and that he made his living now as a "financial consultant," earning commissions of as much as $200,000 a month from clients investing in the stock market.

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