65-Inch TV and Home Theater: Sérgio Cabral Ordered to Pay R$1 Million Over Prison Perks

A 65-inch television, a home theater system and visits outside prison rules were among the privileges that led a Rio de Janeiro court to order former governor Sérgio Cabral to pay R$1 million in collective moral damages.

Judges on the 4th Public Law Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice concluded that prison officials had created a structure to benefit Cabral while he was held at the José Frederico Marques Public Jail in Benfica and at Bangu 8 Penitentiary between 2016 and 2018. The judgment also imposed a fine equal to 12 times his last salary as governor.

Investigators said the arrangement allowed equipment, food and other prohibited objects to enter the prisons. They pointed to deliberate failures in entry and exit records and problems with camera systems. The inquiry also said Cabral received a mattress, exercise equipment and household appliances.

Reporting on the case said officials created a false donation document from a church to make the delivery of the equipment appear legal. The church denied making the donation. Judge Caetano Ernesto da Fonseca Costa, the case’s rapporteur, said those involved concealed official acts and obstructed oversight, damaging the principles of impartiality and public trust in the prison system.

Six public officials were also convicted: former prison administration secretary Erir Ribeiro Costa Filho and agents Alex de Lima Carvalho, Fabio Ferraz Sodré, Sauler Antonio Sakalen, Fernando Lima de Farias and Nilton Cesar Vieira da Silva. Each was ordered to pay a fine equal to five times their final salary and R$100,000 in collective damages. The damages will go to the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights. The report said it had not located Cabral’s defense.