An explanation of how the mensalão case has been divided into seven different parts or “slices”

The Brazilian Supreme Court (“STF”) has agreed to follow the judgment format (“formato de julgamento”) set out by the relator, justice Joaquim Barbosa, who has divided his opinion (“voto”) into chapters similar to the way the chief federal prosecutor presented the case. The case has been sliced up (“fatiado”). However, Barbosa has changed the order somewhat.

The first chapter in the prosecutor’s case was an introduction that will be disregarded. The second chapter dealt with conspiracy (“formação de quadrilha”) and is among the more important slices because one of those charged with conspiracy in the mensalão case is the former all-powerful presidential chief of staff (“ministro-chefe da Casa Civil”), José Dirceu.

However, Barbosa has decided to build his case against the conspirators by first laying out the evidence of other crimes. Thus, conspiracy goes to the back of the line and will be dealt with last.

Consequently, since Thursday (August 16), when the relator, Barbosa, began his vote, followed by Ricardo Lewandowski, the revisor, yesterday (August 22), the court has been dealing with charges of misappropriation of public money (“desvio de verbo” or “dinheiro público”). The prosecution claims the money that irrigated the mensalão scheme, whether it was used to pay campaign debts or bribes, was government money mostly siphoned off state-run enterprise advertising budgets. The defense says the funds came from the private sector. So far, both Barbosa and Lewandowski have concurred that there was misappropriation of public funds and a serious breach of trust in contractual relationships between the Banco do Brasil and DNA propaganda.

Today (August 23), Lewandowski will end his vote on this item (which includes accusations of malfeasance against federal deputy João Paulo Cunha for misuse of public funds when he was president of the Chamber of Deputies). The other justices will then vote on this item in reverse order of seniority – the most recent STF appointees voting first.

The next chapters, items or slices in the mensalão case are: 1) money laundering in the financial arm of the mensalão scheme (Banco Rural); 2) abuse activities in financial institution management (“gestão fraudulenta”) or embezzlement (violation of banking rules by Banco Rural when it participated in the mensalão scheme); 3) active and/or passive corruption, conspiracy and money laundering (by political parties in the vote-buying ring that supported the government); 4) money laundering (members of the PT and the then minister of Transportation); 6) illegal remittance of funds abroad and money laundering by adman Duda Mendonça and his partner, Zilmar Fernandes, and , finally, 8) conspiracy (this slice includes the mensalão hard core – Jose Dirceu, Marcos Valério and Katia Rabello – who coordinated the various arms of the scheme).

It is not clear that Barbosa will follow the above sequence because he may change the order. It is also not clear as to whether or not justice Cezar Peluso will participate and, if he does, exactly how, or how much.