Rio Grande do Norte Federal Court convicts former mayor and two judges

A Federal Court in Rio Grande do Norte has convicted former mayor Gilson Dias Gonçalves and two former electoral judges, Carlo Virgílio Fernandes de Paiva and Verlano de Queiroz Medeiros, for corruption. The case, stemming from the 2019 ‘Operação Balcão’ investigation, involved the negotiation of R$ 150,000 to secure a favorable judicial decision during the 2014 supplementary elections in Francisco Dantas.

The former judges were convicted of passive corruption, while the former mayor was convicted of active corruption. Evidence presented included bank records, telephone logs, electronic messages, and a draft vote found in an email that had been prepared prior to the official judgment.

Gilson Dias Gonçalves received a one-year prison sentence, reduced due to a plea bargain. The two former judges were sentenced to three years and three months each. As the defendants met legal requirements, the prison sentences were replaced with restrictive rights, such as community service, pecuniary payments, and fines. The defendants were acquitted of money laundering charges due to insufficient evidence.