The defense of former city councilman Milton Leite (União) asked the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) on Monday (21) to reverse the decision that ordered his arrest.
The request is contained in a habeas corpus filed by attorneys Wilton Luís da Silva Gomes, Henrique Sobreira Attuch, and Beatriz Alaia Colin.
The petition presented by the defense pursues two lines of argument. In the first, the attorneys argue that Milton could not have been arrested by order of the Court of Justice after the first-instance judge had denied the request, considering it too generic. According to them, there was no legal provision for the Prosecution's appeal.
The second involves the merits of the case. The politician's defense argues that the elements that justified his arrest are not supported by evidence.
Milton was arrested last Friday (18) as part of an operation investigating the infiltration of the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) into São Paulo's public transportation system.
The Civil Police say they have found evidence that the former councilman and former City Council president is the true owner of Transwolff, a company suspected of laundering money for the PCC.
As Folha reported, the arrest warrant against Milton was based primarily on two circumstances in which his name was mentioned by third parties.
No other evidence against him, such as payments or corporate ties to the companies or individuals under investigation, appears in the representations made by the police and the Prosecution.
According to his attorneys, potential references made by third parties are not sufficient grounds to order someone's arrest.
The very decision by the TJ-SP that gave rise to the operation against the former councilman illustrates this problem, his defense argues.
The order signed by judge Sergio Ribas states that Milton is "cited by name on multiple occasions as directly responsible for the operation of some of the companies controlled by the PCC" and that, according to statements by police officers, he would be the de facto owner of Transwolff.
The problem, the defense argues, is that "it is not stated when, by whom, in what context, or in what terms the subject [Milton Leite] was 'cited'; not a single act of his is described; and, most importantly, no crime whatsoever is identified, let alone from the exhaustive list: being the de facto owner of a transportation company is not a crime."
In addition to revoking the temporary detention on an injunctive (provisional) basis, the former councilman's defense also requests the annulment of the TJ-SP decision that ordered his arrest.
Dubbed Vectura Corrupta, the operation investigates the PCC's infiltration of the transportation sector and also targets suspected corruption of public servants and the faction's involvement in campaign financing during the 2024 elections and this year's elections.
A total of 16 people were subject to arrest warrants in a decision that also authorized searches at 18 addresses in the municipalities of São Paulo, Santana de Parnaíba, São Bernardo do Campo, Diadema, Santos, Praia Grande, and Cubatão.
The warrants were issued by the 8th Criminal Law Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice and by the State Guarantee Court for Criminal Organizations and Money Laundering.
The investigation, as Folha reported, targets all concessionaires operating distribution lines serving neighborhoods across the state capital.
