Paulo Cesar Farias
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Paulo Cesar Farias (September 20, 1945 - June 23, 1996) was the political campaign treasurer of Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello and a central figure in the corruption scandal that resulted in Collor's removal from presidential office.
[edit] Corruption scandal
PC (as he was colloquially known) was a relatively unsuccessful businessman before associating himself with Collor's rising star as Governor of Alagoas, and later, President of Brazil. As campaign treasurer, PC typically collected much more than he spent on the campaign. The remainder (which was estimated to be over US$50 million) was invested in his own businesses (such as an air taxi service) or hidden in anonymous overseas accounts. Once Collor was elected, PC continued to exploit his close relationship to the president by requesting (and receiving) large sums of money from businesses seeking to influence the Brazilian government. As the corruption scandal emerged in 1992, it was revealed that money from PC's businesses was sent directly to Collor to finance the president's personal expenditures, including household staff and extensive landscaping at his home in Brasília, the capital.
After Collor's impeachment, PC fled to the UK and Thailand, where he was arrested by the Interpol and extradited back to Brazil. In 1994 he was condemned to 7 years in prison. He was released in December 1995.
[edit] Death
The circumstances of PC's death have been controversial. In 1996, PC and Suzana Marcolino, his young girlfriend, were found both found dead of gunshot wounds in PC's beach house in Maceio. Local police ascribed the deaths to a crime of passion, wherein Suzana, fearing the imminent dissolution of the relationship, shot PC and then herself. Later forensic testing determined that PC was likely killed by his own security staff, possibly contracted by PC's own brother, federal congressman Augusto Farias. Augusto, it was believed, considered PC an embarrassment as well as an obstacle to the illicit wealth that remained abroad. The case remains officially unresolved to this day.
