Wallace Souza

Wallace Souza (born August 12, 1958 in Manaus , Amazonas , † July 27, 2010 in São Paulo ) was a Brazilian television presenter, member of parliament and alleged drug trafficker. He became internationally known for the allegations that he ordered murders to increase the attractiveness of his television show and that he was the head of a drug cartel .

Life

Career

Souza studied at the College of Business São Luiz Gonzaga and the State College Basílio Machado. In 1979 he began to work as a police officer, but lost this position again in 1987 after evidence of embezzlement. He did not have to face any further legal consequences. From 1989 he produced and hosted the television show Canal Livre . The program sensationally documented the police work and had the right to stand up for the fight against crime itself. Chases, arrests, but above all murders and violent crimes were included in the program. Canal Livre quickly gained in popularity, among other things because the away teams were very quick at the crime scenes and showed the latest pictures. The cameramen were often on site before the police and were able to capture particularly drastic recordings. Souza's popularity continued to grow, as did the format's ratings. He then used this politically. In 1996 he joined the conservative Partido Liberal party and was elected to the city council in Manaus. He later moved to the left-wing Partido Social Cristão . In 2000 he was elected MP for the Amazon State. He was re-elected twice, both times with more votes than any other MP. The main focus of his political work and his election campaign statements have always been crime in the state, which was the highest in Brazil. Canal Livre was discontinued in 2008 after rumors first surfaced that some of the crimes shown had been commissioned by Souza himself and that was the only reason why the camera crews could show up at the crime scenes so quickly. Various witnesses stated that Souza's employees had turned up in some cases before the murders took place. The police announced an investigation.

Arrest and prosecution

On April 25, 2009, 16 people were arrested. Souza's son Raphael was among those arrested. He was accused of drug trafficking, illegal gun possession and murder. Wallace Souza himself has also been investigated for drug trafficking, forming a criminal organization and inciting the murder of at least five people. One of Souza's arrested bodyguards incriminated him heavily. The murders were intended to serve his various activities. First, he eliminated competitors from the drug trade and, second, increased the attractiveness of his show. Politically, too, he used people's fear of the prevailing violence. Because of his work as a member of parliament and the associated immunity , he could not initially be arrested. When his villa was searched, large sums of money and various weapons were seized. Souza denied the allegations in an interview with Associated Press and spoke of a conspiracy in politics and criminal circles from the drug milieu, for whom he was a thorn in the side. Because of the overwhelming burden of proof, parliament decided to lift immunity at the beginning of October, whereupon Souza went underground. After four days, he turned himself in to the police on October 9, 2009. He repeated his conspiracy theory and continued to plead his innocence. The only reason the reporters turned up so quickly at the crime scenes was because the police radio was bugged and the makers of the show had their own network of informants. Following requests from his lawyer and the intervention of his brother Carlos Souza, who held the office of Vice Mayor of Manaus, Souza was placed in a special solitary cell that was actually only reserved for prisoners with a university degree.

death

Wallace Souza was transferred to a hospital in São Paulo in March 2010 during the ongoing trial for treatment for liver disease. At this point the trial against him was almost over and Souza was burdened with various evidence and testimony. On July 27, 2010, he died in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Souza left behind his wife and three children. While his son Raphael was sentenced to 11 years in prison, the case against Wallace Souza was dropped after his death.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A suspect moderator on Faz.net on August 14, 2009
2. ↑ TV presenter is said to have ordered murders for quota on welt.de on August 13, 2009
3. ↑ It smells like grilled meat on Süddeutsche.de on August 13, 2009
4. ↑ TV presenter is said to have hired murderers on spiegel.de on August 12, 2009
5. ↑ The cameras turn on crime show host in murder probe in: The Independent on August 13, 2009 (English)
6. ↑ Kill for the ratings on Süddeutsche.de on October 9, 2009
7. ↑ Ex-deputado Wallace Souza é procurado pela polícia on Estadão.com.br on October 26, 2009 (Portuguese)
8. ↑ TV presenter wanted for contract killings appears on spiegel.de on October 9, 2009
9. ↑ 'Murders for ratings' Brazil TV host dies in hospital on BBC .com on July 28, 2010
10. ↑ Produtora do ex-deputado Wallace de Souza (AM) é indiciada por tráfico ( Memento of the original of April 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Imprensa portal on November 13, 2009 (Portuguese)