Former São Paulo city councilman Milton Leite (União Brasil), a six-time president of the São Paulo City Council, will remain in custody after turning himself in to police in Mogi das Cruzes, in the metropolitan region of the state capital. The decision was made by the court this Saturday (19) during a custody hearing, a procedure that evaluates the legality and conditions under which an arrest was made.
"No irregularities were identified in the execution of the arrest and he remains in custody," the São Paulo Court of Justice stated.
After the hearing, the former councilman was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation, a source familiar with the investigations said. He spent the night in the city's public jail. He had reportedly complained of high blood pressure symptoms in the morning.
Milton is the subject of a temporary arrest warrant valid for 30 days, issued by the 8th Criminal Law Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice. He is suspected of participating in a scheme to infiltrate members of the criminal faction PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) into bus companies that provide municipal transport services in São Paulo, according to the Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The former councilman says he is "innocent of all charges" and that he will have "the opportunity to prove everything." His lawyer, Aloísio Lacerda Medeiros, also states that he "has nothing to do with the matter."
One of São Paulo's most influential politicians, Milton was not found at his home in the southern zone of the capital on Thursday morning (17), when the arrest warrant was being executed, and was subsequently considered a fugitive.
Early Thursday morning, he gave statements to the press claiming innocence and promising to turn himself in to the courts within 24 hours — and appeared at the police station at around 4 p.m. on Friday, approximately 38 hours after making that statement.
Operation Vectura Corrupta, carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Civil Police, targets suspicions that bus companies providing public transport services in municipalities across São Paulo state came to be managed by faction members following the award of public contracts.
The request for the former councilman's arrest was based on two circumstances in which his name was mentioned by third parties. His name appears in an audio recording found on a seized mobile phone and in statements made by police officers to the Military Police Internal Affairs Bureau.
No other evidence against him — such as payments or corporate ties to the companies or individuals under investigation — appears in the police and prosecution filings that requested his arrest.
There are also suspicions of corruption of public officials and of PCC involvement in campaign financing for the 2024 mayoral and city council elections, as well as in the current electoral race.
In total, 16 people were targeted by arrest orders on Thursday, and search and seizure warrants were executed at 18 addresses. The operation was carried out in São Paulo, Santana de Parnaíba, São Bernardo do Campo, Diadema, Santos, Praia Grande, and Cubatão.
