Brazilian Durval Barbosa, the man who accused some 30 politicians and contractors of Brazilian capital Brasília of corruption, including the governor of the Federal District, José Roberto Arruda, was supposed to be questioned at the Federal Police yesterday, but the deposition was postponed.
Arruda supporters were about to engage in legal maneuvers to halt Barbosa’s appearance at the Federal Police headquarters when Durval’s lawyers requested a postponement.
Members of political parties that support Arruda, called the “situation,” certainly did not want Durval Barbosa doing more than he has already done.
He has given the police videotapes of politicians handling large amounts of money, politicians saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the large amounts of money they received, and contractors complaining about the large amounts of money they had to give the politicians in order to get government contracts.
Assemblyman Alirio Neto, from the PPS party, an Arruda man and the chairman of the investigative commission (CPI) of the Legislative Assembly that is supposed to be looking into the charges of bribery and generalized malfeasance involving many members of the Legislative Assembly (eight of them already named in a criminal investigation by the Federal Police), put it this way: “The deputies in the assembly need more time to gather information so they can elucidate the facts.”
Durval is cooperating with the police because he faces 37 charges of criminal activities himself. However, he decided he wanted to postpone his appointment with the feds until he is a little more certain of exactly what his plea bargaining negotiations will render.
His lawyer explained it this way: “As it is certain that the questioning he will face will be broad ranging, the broader the better, given the political positions and personal characteristics of his inquisitors, it is feared he (Durval) will find himself faced with the possibility of having to furnish answers that will eventually be detrimental to his right to due process regarding activities that have not been included in prior plea bargaining discussions.”
