Antônio Carlos Biscaia
Encyclopedia
Antônio Carlos Silva Biscaia (born June 13, 1942, in Curitiba
, Paraná
) is former federal prosecutor and currently a politician from Brazil. He is affiliated to the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT - Workers Party). He is a Professor of Criminal Procedural Law of the Universidade Cândido Mendes (UCAM).
("the animals' game"), a popular illegal lottery in Rio de Janeiro
. The illegal lottery operators built a mafia-type association (known as the cupola do bicho), that controlled the illegal gambling business and shielded it from prosecution by corrupting authorities and police.
In 1994, he oversaw a raid on the headquarters of the illegal lottery boss Castor de Andrade
and discovered a log book registering regular bribes from the bicheiros to more than 100 people, including police officers, the judiciary and politicians, such as the former President of Brazil, Fernando Collor de Mello
.
On September 29, 2009, Biscaia sponsored a new law in the Brazilian Congress, known as Ficha Limpa – meaning ‘clean slate’ in English. The law aims to permanently bar any person from running for any political office (in municipal, state or federal elections) who has any corruption charges or allegations pending against them. The law was a popular initiative by Movement to Combat Electoral Corruption (MCCE), an umbrella group consisting of over 43 like-minded organisations, but officially it will be recorded on his name. On June 4, 2010, the bill was signed and became law.
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
, Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
) is former federal prosecutor and currently a politician from Brazil. He is affiliated to the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT - Workers Party). He is a Professor of Criminal Procedural Law of the Universidade Cândido Mendes (UCAM).
Federal prosecutor
Biscaia became known in the early 1990s as an uncorruptabe federal prosecutor taking on the bicheiros, the operators of the jogo do bichoJogo do Bicho
Jogo do Bicho is an illegal gambling game in Brazil, prohibited by federal law since 1946. Very popular throughout the country, the "game" is actually a lottery-type drawing operated on a regional basis by mobsters known as contraventores , bicheiros or banqueiros...
("the animals' game"), a popular illegal lottery in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. The illegal lottery operators built a mafia-type association (known as the cupola do bicho), that controlled the illegal gambling business and shielded it from prosecution by corrupting authorities and police.
In 1994, he oversaw a raid on the headquarters of the illegal lottery boss Castor de Andrade
Castor de Andrade
Castor Gonçalves de Andrade e Silva was a well-known bicheiro in Rio de Janeiro. Since the 1980s, Castor de Andrade was the uncontested leader of all the main bicheiros of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and had more than 100 policemen and a number of public servants, prominent politicians, and judges...
and discovered a log book registering regular bribes from the bicheiros to more than 100 people, including police officers, the judiciary and politicians, such as the former President of Brazil, Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...
.
In politics
Biscaia was a Federal Deputy for the Workers Party (PT) in the periods 1999-2000, 2003–2007 and 2008-2010. He has been National Secretary of Justice and the Secretary for National Public Security (Secretaria Nacional de Segurança Pública - SENASP) from 2007-2008.On September 29, 2009, Biscaia sponsored a new law in the Brazilian Congress, known as Ficha Limpa – meaning ‘clean slate’ in English. The law aims to permanently bar any person from running for any political office (in municipal, state or federal elections) who has any corruption charges or allegations pending against them. The law was a popular initiative by Movement to Combat Electoral Corruption (MCCE), an umbrella group consisting of over 43 like-minded organisations, but officially it will be recorded on his name. On June 4, 2010, the bill was signed and became law.