Police suspect gang, Casares’ protégé led VIP box scheme | OneFootball

Investigations into the clandestine exploitation of São Paulo’s VIP boxes have gained a new element. A report from the Department of Police for the Protection of Citizenship (DPPC) indicates that Rita de Cássia Adriana Prado, Mara Casares, Douglas Schwartzmann, and Márcio Carlomagno would be part of a “professionalized criminal association,” with a fixed division of profits in a scheme that allegedly harmed the club over nearly two years.

The information was initially published by the portal ‘Globo Esporte‘.

The document is based on the analysis of a notebook seized in January at Adriana’s house, which investigators treat as a key piece for understanding the structure’s operation.

“This document is the link that unites Carlomagno, the influence of Mara and Schwartzmann, and Adriana’s operation […] in a systemic mechanism of looting the assets,” the report notes.

The main new development is the inclusion of Carlomagno at the core of the operation. Previously, he appeared only in third-party statements as responsible for providing the space, but now, he is described as part of the informal partnership.

The notes attributed to Adriana are interpreted as a direct record of the division of roles and revenues. In one excerpt, she lists those involved as “partners” and details the split: “25% for each Mara, Márcio, Douglas, me.”

For the police, this constitutes more than a one-off agreement, indicating an organized and ongoing structure. The report states that this is “material evidence that the profit from the clandestine exploitation of the VIP boxes […] was not an occasional bonus,” but part of a mechanism with a “fixed and systemic corruption rate.”

Another relevant point is the attempt to reconstruct the duration of the scheme. Based on the notes, investigators delimited a period from the Coldplay concert in March 2023 to Shakira’s performance in February of the following year.

On one of the pages, Adriana writes “Everything without problems until February 2025,” followed by references such as “email to Mara” and “Coldplay show,” which is interpreted as a timeline of the operation, indicating that the exploitation was occurring without incidents up to that point.

The investigators’ reading also places Adriana as a central figure, responsible for the “logistical and financial operation,” including the resale of tickets and the distribution of profits. In another excerpt, she outlines the roles and positions of those involved within the club, even referring to Carlomagno as “vice-president,” which, although formally incorrect — he was the club’s general superintendent — is seen as indicative of the weight he had within the structure. At the time, he was considered a significant name in the internal political scene, regarded as a potentially viable candidate in the presidential election in December.

The notebook also contains elements that, in the police’s view, indicate awareness of the scheme’s illegality. At a certain point, Adriana questions: “Is corruption only on their part? What could splash back on me?” In another, there is a crossed-out section with the phrase “I have no knowledge of anything” followed by the note “I knew it existed.” For investigators, this is an indication that she considered and dismissed the idea of claiming ignorance, functioning as a kind of confession.

There are also signs of internal rupture. The notes suggest that Adriana had planned to leave the group and even change her position, seeking to act “legally” within the club. At the same time, she records dissatisfaction with the others involved — “You kicked me out of SPFC” — and mentions strategies to sell information, in an attempt to protect herself.

The police interpret this move as the transition from an active participant to a potential collaborator. Another highlighted aspect is the fear expressed by Adriana regarding her own safety. The phrase “Threatening my life and physical integrity” appears in the notes and is read as a sign that she felt pressured at a certain point in the process.

For investigators, the entirety of the seized material is sufficient to characterize her as the central figure in the association.

Schwartzmann’s lawyers spoke of a “selective leak of documents taken out of context” and classified the material as incapable of meeting a “minimum requirement of legal reliability.”

Adriana’s defense, meanwhile, emphasized that the report is part of an investigation under seal and that “the elements produced […] do not have the strength to affirm any guilt or innocence,” reinforcing the need for full access to the case files.

Mara Casares’s defense also pointed out that the document is “merely interpretative in nature,” based on “hypotheses” and “conjectures.”

Contacted through the State Department of Public Security, under the responsibility of the state administration of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos), the Civil Police limited itself to stating that the case remains under seal at the DPPC and that “investigations are ongoing to clarify the facts.”

Carlomagno’s lawyers, in turn, declared that they had not had access to the report, but that he “vehemently denies any relationship” with Adriana and with the commercialization of VIP boxes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.