The lawyer hired by Republican deputy George Santos to defend him in an embezzlement case in Brazil has been previously convicted of participating in an extermination group linked to the former "van mafia" in São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Jonymar Vasconcelos, 47, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2007 by Judge Patrícia Acioli, who was murdered four years later by militia police. In 2004, the lawyer was paid to kill a mechanic who refused to repair VW buses for free and could not accept the fact that had been kicked off the transport cooperative.
At the time he committed the crime, the lawyer was a 3rd sergeant in the Navy. He lost his functions in the Force by the decision of the magistrate and, years later, he was licensed by the military Disciplinary Board. When questioned, Vasconcelos says that he has already paid for his crime and that the lawsuit has already been extinguished. He served about five years in a closed regime, until 2009 when he was then moved to house arrest and started studying law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His sentence was extinguished in June 2022.
Folha asked George Santos if he was aware of his defender's past and how he'd found him since he is not connected to a law firm nor does he have contacts listed on the internet. Vasconcelos represents Santos in the case in which the politician confessed to having used stolen and bad checks to buy clothes and shoes in Niterói, in 2008 — reopened when lies about the deputy's resume began to surface. In response to the report, Santos first wrote, by message, that he did not understand Portuguese, despite being the son of Brazilians and having lived in Brazil for years. When questions were sent in English, the deputy failed to respond. Vasconcelos claims that the client found him for his good performance in court. "George came to me by recommendation, seeing the number of lawsuits that I successfully handled. I have had success in more than 350 of the lawsuits I have worked on", he says.
Translated by Cassy Dias