TRF-4 Opens Disciplinary Probe Into Judge Eduardo Appio Over Alleged Champagne Theft

Overview

• Santa Catarina’s Civil Police informed TRF-4 that a police report alleges two Moët bottles were taken from a Blumenau supermarket on September 20 and October 4.
• Tribunal sources say security-camera images exist, and the suspect left in a Jeep Compass whose license plate is registered to Appio.
• A supermarket security account describes an approximately 72-year-old man with glasses, a description that does not match the judge.
• TRF-4 says inquiries involving magistrates are confidential and that applicable measures will be adopted, with precautionary removal cited by court sources as a possibility.
• Police suspended their investigation and sent the case to TRF-4 due to jurisdiction, while Appio denies wrongdoing, calls the case politically motivated and a misunderstanding, and signals legal action; he previously briefly held the Lava Jato seat before his 2023 removal.