RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Federal Deputy Celso Russomanno, candidate for Mayor of São Paulo, had his accounts blocked at four banks, a building seized, and his cars listed in a judicial record of restriction for sale – the result of a collection action that is currently before the courts. The deputy is accused of holding debts to a company that rented him a building where ‘Bar do Alemão’ operated in Brasília. Russomanno was the establishment’s owner and manager.
Attorney André da Mata, who represents the leasing company, says that the deputy occupied the building between February 2015 and August 2016 without paying rent. The corrected debt now exceeds R$7.2 million, according to him. The attorney said the court ordered Russomanno to pay the debt in August 2016, but he did not.
The Bar do Alemão was inaugurated in 2013, in a privileged location, less than two kilometers from the Alvorada Palace, the President’s official residence. Russomanno opened the establishment in partnership with a company owned by Augusto Mendonça Neto of the Toyo Setal Group, who would later become known when he confessed to Operation Lava-Jato that he had paid the PT (Workers’ Party) R$60 million in kickbacks.
Russomanno had his accounts blocked when the debt was still at R$2.3 million. At the time, the Courts found in his four accounts a balance of only R$1,600. In his defense, the deputy argued that the signature on the lease was not his. “Russomanno’s signature was notarized,” says the attorney. “Unfortunately, he preaches one thing on television and does another in his business”. Questioned, the candidate failed to make a statement.
Source: Veja