Rio Prosecutors Search Homes of Lawmakers Tied to TCP and Seize Cash and Phones

Overview

• On Thursday prosecutors and Polícia Civil executed search-and-seizure warrants at addresses linked to state deputy Val Ceasa, ex-councilman Ulisses Marins and an ex‑assessor and seized about R$320,000 in cash plus phones while two people were arrested for illegal weapons possession.
• The MPRJ alleges the politicians contacted the local military police in December 2023 to obtain details about a secret demolition and argued the properties were used for social projects, a claim investigators say helped postpone the operation for more than a year.
• Investigators report financial red flags around Val Ceasa, saying he moved at least R$13 million despite declaring roughly R$1 million in assets and asking the court to break his banking and fiscal secrecy to follow those flows.
• Prosecutors point to electoral data showing sizable vote totals for the targeted politicians in neighborhoods controlled by the Terceiro Comando Puro, which the inquiry treats as evidence of local influence or clientelism.
• The case is part of a wave of probes into criminal ties inside the state legislature after earlier investigations such as TH Joias and Bacellar, and the MPRJ says the inquiries are ongoing while the accused deny wrongdoing and call the actions political persecution.