Celso Daniel
Encyclopedia
Celso Augusto Daniel was the mayor in 2002 for the third time (72% of votes) of the city of Santo André in São Paulo
, Brazil, as a representative of the Workers' Party
(PT). He was kidnapped
and assassinated
in the same year.
A civil engineer
who graduated in 1973 from the Engenharia Mauá School, in São Caetano do Sul
, he followed an academic career and obtained a master's degree
in Public Administration
from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas
(FGV-SP) and a doctorate
in Political Science
from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica
(PUC-SP). He acted later as a teacher in both universities. As mayor he was connected to the United Nations Urban Management Programme.
Celso Daniel's murder has not been properly solved by the local authorities, and the conclusions obtained by the investigations are still under dispute; the criminals who kidnapped him have been arrested but theories about their motivation for the crime vary from suggestions that it was a botched kidnapping attempt caused by a misunderstanding of the mayor's identity to theories that the crime was politically motivated and the killers were actually paid by figures of Daniel's own political party, PT. Since the beginning of the investigation, seven witness
es have been found dead.
, in São Paulo. He left the restaurant in an armoured Pajero driven by his former body-guard Sérgio Gomes da Silva, nicknamed Sombra ("Shadow"). The car was followed by kidnappers in other cars, and near the number 393 of Rua Antônio Bezerra, in the neighborhood of Sacomã, the cars managed to block their path. Shots were fired against the tires and the glasses; Da Silva, who was the driver, said that at that moment the brakes and the transmission didn't work. According to him, the armed criminals opened the door of the car, grabbed the mayor and took him away, while he stayed in the area and remained unscathed.
On the morning of Sunday January 20, the body of Celso Daniel, with 11 gunshot wounds, was found in the Estrada das Cachoeiras in the neighborhood of Carmo in the city of Juquitiba
, along the Régis Bittencourt
Highway (BR-116).
police
concluded their investigation on April 1, 2002. According to their final report, presented by Armando de Oliveira Costa Filho of the Department of Homicide (DHPP), six individuals of a criminal gang from a favela
called Pantanal in the southern part of São Paulo committed the crime. One of the accused, a minor, confessed to having shot the mayor.
The political investigation concluded that the criminals had kidnapped the mayor for profit and had mistaken him for a different person, a businessman whose identity was not revealed, supposedly the true target of the kidnapping.
The member of the criminal band were identified as: Rodolfo Rodrigo de Souza Oliveira (Bozinho), José Édson da Silva (Édson), Itamar Messias Silva dos Santos (Itamar), Marcos Roberto Bispo dos Santos (Marquinhos), and Elcyd Oliveira Brito (John). The leader of the group was identified as Ivan Rodrigues da Silva (Monstro, "Monster" in Portuguese
). The area of his captivity was chosen by Édson, who had rented a spot in the city of Juquitiba
for this purpose. Two cars were stolen for the kidnapping, a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
and a Volkswagen Santana
. The gang assembled on January 17, 2002 and decided that the kidnapping would take place the following day.
In the afternoon of January 18, 2002, Monstro and Marquinhos left in a car and the other members were in another; Monstro coordinated the operation with a cell phone. The members in the second car began to pursue the businessman who they hoped to detain, but lost sight of his vehicle; Monstro then ordered them to abort the planned action and seize the passenger of the first expensive foreign car they encountered. The criminals continued to drive through the area and chose the Pajero of Celso Daniel and Sérgio Gomes as their target.
The group began to pursue the vehicle and eventually crashed into it. Itamar and Bonzinho exited their car firing at the Pajero and grabbed Celso Daniel from the car. He was then taken to the favela Pantanal, located in the area between Diadema and São Paulo
. In the favela, the criminals took Daniel out of the Blazer, placed him in the Santana and drove him to their planned captivity spot in Juquitiba.
On January 19, the gang learned from the newspapers that they had kidnapped the mayor of Santo André. They were shocked and resolved to give up. Monstro told Edson that the victim had to be "dismissed". According to the other members of the gang, Monstro intended to communicate that the mayor should be freed. However, Edson claimed to have misinterpreted this remark as meaning he should be killed. He ordered an underage boy named Lalo to kill the mayor at the Estrada da Cachoeira, in Juquitiba. Two days later, his body was found with eight gunshot entry wounds.
Celso Daniel's family was not satisfied with the determination of the initial inquiry, and they believed that the crime had a political motivation. An analysis of the car revealed that it did not have any electrical or mechanical faults, and they didn't not accept Sérgio Gomes da Silva's story that these faults prevented an escape.
After the death of Celso Daniel, six other individuals were assassinated in an apparently mysterious manner, including the individual who found the body and the waiter who had served Celso Daniel the night of the crime.
One of public prosecutors had also showed the minor alleged to have fired the shot a photo of Celso Daniel whom he apparently failed to recognize.
The family continued to press the authorities to reopen the case, and on August 5, 2002, the São Paulo State Attorney General
agreed to launch a reopening.
João alleged that his brother was a part of a corruption scheme in Santo André used to divert funds to the Brazilians Worker's Party
(PT). The supposed scheme involved members of the municipal government and businesspeople in the transportation sector, and even involved key PT figures like José Dirceu
and Gilberto Carvalho, Brazilian President Lula
's personal secretary. According to João, some members of the scheme began to divert funds illegally marked to PT into their own personal accounts. When Celso Daniel discovered this change, he supposedly prepared a report revealing the scheme. Because of this action, his brother claims he was assassinated and the report disappeared.
The convict José Felício, also known as "Geleião", told the police that he had heard about this report and the accompanying threat to the mayor's life.
Sérgio Gomes da Silva was later indicted and accused of being the mastermind of the assassination in connection with the corruption scheme. He is currently in custody and denies any involvement in an assassination.
There are also several awards received by Brazilian institutions and organizations.
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, Brazil, as a representative of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(PT). He was kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in the same year.
A civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
who graduated in 1973 from the Engenharia Mauá School, in São Caetano do Sul
São Caetano do Sul
São Caetano do Sul is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan Area. It is the city with the highest per capita income in Brazil and it also has the highest Human Development Index .-Geography:São Caetano do Sul is located on a plateau that is part of the...
, he followed an academic career and obtained a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Public Administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas
Fundação Getúlio Vargas
Fundação Getulio Vargas is a Brazilian higher education institution founded on December 20, 1944. It offers regular courses of Economics, Business Administration, Law, Social Sciences and Information technology management...
(FGV-SP) and a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica
Pontifícia Universidade Católica
Pontifícia Universidade Católica may refer to:* Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro* Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo* Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas* Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais...
(PUC-SP). He acted later as a teacher in both universities. As mayor he was connected to the United Nations Urban Management Programme.
Celso Daniel's murder has not been properly solved by the local authorities, and the conclusions obtained by the investigations are still under dispute; the criminals who kidnapped him have been arrested but theories about their motivation for the crime vary from suggestions that it was a botched kidnapping attempt caused by a misunderstanding of the mayor's identity to theories that the crime was politically motivated and the killers were actually paid by figures of Daniel's own political party, PT. Since the beginning of the investigation, seven witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es have been found dead.
Assassination
Celso Daniel was kidnapped on January 18, 2002 while leaving a restaurant late at night in the neighborhood of JardinsJardins
Jardins is the name given to an upper class region of São Paulo city, which includes the neighbourhoods of:* Jardim Paulista* Jardim América* Jardim Europa* Jardim PaulistanoAll are comprised within Pinheiros subprefecture....
, in São Paulo. He left the restaurant in an armoured Pajero driven by his former body-guard Sérgio Gomes da Silva, nicknamed Sombra ("Shadow"). The car was followed by kidnappers in other cars, and near the number 393 of Rua Antônio Bezerra, in the neighborhood of Sacomã, the cars managed to block their path. Shots were fired against the tires and the glasses; Da Silva, who was the driver, said that at that moment the brakes and the transmission didn't work. According to him, the armed criminals opened the door of the car, grabbed the mayor and took him away, while he stayed in the area and remained unscathed.
On the morning of Sunday January 20, the body of Celso Daniel, with 11 gunshot wounds, was found in the Estrada das Cachoeiras in the neighborhood of Carmo in the city of Juquitiba
Juquitiba
Juquitiba is a suburban municipality in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 28,458, the density is 54.52/km² and the area is 522 km². This name comes from the Tupi language...
, along the Régis Bittencourt
Rodovia Régis Bittencourt
Rodovia Régis Bittencourt is a section of the BR-116 that connects the cities of São Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil. It is considered one of the most dangerous highways of Brazil, due to the high number of accidents. Sometimes it is even nicknamed "Rodovia da Morte" . It also leads the number of...
Highway (BR-116).
Investigation
The São PauloSão Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
concluded their investigation on April 1, 2002. According to their final report, presented by Armando de Oliveira Costa Filho of the Department of Homicide (DHPP), six individuals of a criminal gang from a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
called Pantanal in the southern part of São Paulo committed the crime. One of the accused, a minor, confessed to having shot the mayor.
The political investigation concluded that the criminals had kidnapped the mayor for profit and had mistaken him for a different person, a businessman whose identity was not revealed, supposedly the true target of the kidnapping.
The member of the criminal band were identified as: Rodolfo Rodrigo de Souza Oliveira (Bozinho), José Édson da Silva (Édson), Itamar Messias Silva dos Santos (Itamar), Marcos Roberto Bispo dos Santos (Marquinhos), and Elcyd Oliveira Brito (John). The leader of the group was identified as Ivan Rodrigues da Silva (Monstro, "Monster" in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
). The area of his captivity was chosen by Édson, who had rented a spot in the city of Juquitiba
Juquitiba
Juquitiba is a suburban municipality in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 28,458, the density is 54.52/km² and the area is 522 km². This name comes from the Tupi language...
for this purpose. Two cars were stolen for the kidnapping, a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
Chevrolet S-10 Blazer
The Chevrolet Blazer and the similar GMC S-15 Jimmy are mid-size SUVs from General Motors. Production began alongside the larger K5 Blazer and Jimmy in 1983 and lasted through 2005. In the United States retail sales after 2004 were limited to two-door Blazer models, all other models being sold...
and a Volkswagen Santana
Volkswagen Passat
The Volkswagen Passat is a large family car marketed by Volkswagen Passenger Cars through six design generations since 1973. Between the Volkswagen Golf / Volkswagen Jetta and the Volkswagen Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, the Passat and its derivatives have been badged variously as...
. The gang assembled on January 17, 2002 and decided that the kidnapping would take place the following day.
In the afternoon of January 18, 2002, Monstro and Marquinhos left in a car and the other members were in another; Monstro coordinated the operation with a cell phone. The members in the second car began to pursue the businessman who they hoped to detain, but lost sight of his vehicle; Monstro then ordered them to abort the planned action and seize the passenger of the first expensive foreign car they encountered. The criminals continued to drive through the area and chose the Pajero of Celso Daniel and Sérgio Gomes as their target.
The group began to pursue the vehicle and eventually crashed into it. Itamar and Bonzinho exited their car firing at the Pajero and grabbed Celso Daniel from the car. He was then taken to the favela Pantanal, located in the area between Diadema and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. In the favela, the criminals took Daniel out of the Blazer, placed him in the Santana and drove him to their planned captivity spot in Juquitiba.
On January 19, the gang learned from the newspapers that they had kidnapped the mayor of Santo André. They were shocked and resolved to give up. Monstro told Edson that the victim had to be "dismissed". According to the other members of the gang, Monstro intended to communicate that the mayor should be freed. However, Edson claimed to have misinterpreted this remark as meaning he should be killed. He ordered an underage boy named Lalo to kill the mayor at the Estrada da Cachoeira, in Juquitiba. Two days later, his body was found with eight gunshot entry wounds.
Celso Daniel's family was not satisfied with the determination of the initial inquiry, and they believed that the crime had a political motivation. An analysis of the car revealed that it did not have any electrical or mechanical faults, and they didn't not accept Sérgio Gomes da Silva's story that these faults prevented an escape.
After the death of Celso Daniel, six other individuals were assassinated in an apparently mysterious manner, including the individual who found the body and the waiter who had served Celso Daniel the night of the crime.
One of public prosecutors had also showed the minor alleged to have fired the shot a photo of Celso Daniel whom he apparently failed to recognize.
The family continued to press the authorities to reopen the case, and on August 5, 2002, the São Paulo State Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
agreed to launch a reopening.
Hypothesis of a political crime
Many members of the family continue to believe the crime had political motivations. According to the Celso Daniel's brother, doctor João Francisco Daniel, he was murdered because he had prepared a report on corruption in the local district of Santo André.João alleged that his brother was a part of a corruption scheme in Santo André used to divert funds to the Brazilians Worker's Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
(PT). The supposed scheme involved members of the municipal government and businesspeople in the transportation sector, and even involved key PT figures like José Dirceu
José Dirceu
José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva is a Brazilian politician.He participated in a revolutionary armed group following the Brazilian military coup of 1964, and was exiled in 1969. He returned in 1980 and was active politically, his highest post was as the chief-of-staff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's...
and Gilberto Carvalho, Brazilian President Lula
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
's personal secretary. According to João, some members of the scheme began to divert funds illegally marked to PT into their own personal accounts. When Celso Daniel discovered this change, he supposedly prepared a report revealing the scheme. Because of this action, his brother claims he was assassinated and the report disappeared.
The convict José Felício, also known as "Geleião", told the police that he had heard about this report and the accompanying threat to the mayor's life.
Sérgio Gomes da Silva was later indicted and accused of being the mastermind of the assassination in connection with the corruption scheme. He is currently in custody and denies any involvement in an assassination.
International Prizes received as a Mayor
- 2002 Dubai International Awards for Best Practices
- Granted by the United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeUnited Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeThe United Nations Human Settlements Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya...
- Status of the premiation: Selected between 10 best practices in the world in a total of 550 subscriptions.
- 2001 Habitat - UN Conference on Human Settlements - IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- Granted by the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) - Status of the premiation: One of the sixteen best experiences in the world from an 800 projects subscribed.
- 1999 Mayor friend of Children Programme
- Granted by - Abrinq Foundation, supported by The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- Status of the Premiation: Highest award from 180 subscriptions.
There are also several awards received by Brazilian institutions and organizations.