After being removed by the STF, mayor of Macapá resigns from his position

The mayor of Macapá, Dr. Furlan (PSD), submitted a request to resign from his mandate, after being removed from office by decision of the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Flávio Dino.

The Federal Police (PF) is investigating Dr. Furlan and the vice-mayor, Mario Neto, on suspicion of embezzlement of federal resources destined for the construction of the Municipal General Hospital.

The resignation statement was sent by letter to the Macapá City Council this Thursday (5).

“I thank the people of Macapá for the trust they have placed in me and I hope that this trust is maintained, even after I leave, says the letter.

In the document, Furlan says he resigned from the mayor’s office because he will run for the position of state governor in this year’s elections. The Federal Constitution determines the resignation of the position of mayor as a legal requirement to run for head of the State Executive.

This Wednesday, after the removal of the mayor and deputy, the president of the Macapá City Council, Pedro dos Santos Martins, known as Pedro DaLua (União Brasil), took office on an interim basis as mayor.

Councilor Margleide Alfaia (PDT) temporarily assumed the presidency of the Macapá City Council.

Fraud

Furlan is being investigated as part of operation Paroxismo, which investigates a possible bid fraud scheme within the scope of a contract signed by the Municipal Health Department of Macapá.

According to the investigations, there is evidence of the existence of a criminal scheme, involving public agents and businesspeople, aimed at directing the bidding, embezzling public resources and money laundering in the engineering project and execution of works at the city’s Municipal General Hospital.

In a report, the PF stated that there was “clear evidence of compromising competitiveness” in the tender that resulted in the hiring of the company Santa Rita Engenharia Ltda. The contract was signed for around R$70 million.

Among the signs of fraud is the fact that the proposal presented by the company is practically identical to the budget made by the city hall itself as a market survey. For the PF, this indicates that the company had prior access to the criteria for approval in the bidding.

Financial movements

Once the contract was signed, “a systematic and anomalous movement of resources in kind” began by the company’s partners, described the PF. In total, 42 withdrawals were made by Rodrigo Moreira, one of the partners, worth R$7.4 million, while Fabrizio Gonçalves made 17 withdrawals, totaling R$2.4 million.

“The analysis of the chronology and values ​​shows that such operations occurred shortly after the contractual transfers made by the Municipality of Macapá to the company, and that the resources were not reinserted into the banking circuit, nor used for payments related to contractual execution”, wrote the PF.

The investigators also gathered evidence that part of this money was transported in vehicles owned by Furlan, as well as transfers made by Santa Rita Engenharia to accounts linked to the mayor’s ex-wife and current partner.

Removal

When justifying the removal from public functions, Minister Flávio Dino wrote that “the permanence of those investigated in their positions ensures them access to documents, systems and databases relevant to the elucidation of the facts, creating an environment conducive to the suppression, manipulation or concealment of evidentiary elements”.

The minister also stated that both could commit crimes again if they remained in charge of the city hall’s bidding processes.