MP opens investigation to investigate frequent changes in police station that combats tax crimes in AC | Acre

The Public Ministry of Acre (MP-AC) opened a civil inquiry to investigate frequent changes in the organizational structure of the state’s Civil Police, especially the Specialized Police Station for the Repression of Financial Crimes (DEFAZ). According to a publication in the MP-AC Electronic Diary this Tuesday (31), the organization’s suspicion is that constant changes made by General Delegate José Henrique Maciel have caused slowness in the unit’s investigations.

The MP-AC classifies the changes as “recurrent and deliberate”, and says that the halt in investigations harms the efficiency of public authorities in investigating tax crimes.

“The aforementioned changes in the Police Unit, formerly known as the Group for Combating Crimes Against the Tax Order – GECOT and currently called the Specialized Police Station for the Suppression of Financial Crimes – DEFAZ, have resulted in excessive delays in completing the police records, as well as in the deliberate weakening of repression strategies for crimes against the tax system and related crimes’, says the publication.

The procedure, opened by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Tax Evasion, determines the carrying out of a technical visit to the unit to verify the composition of the police team, ongoing and completed investigations, time bank, and vehicles available to the unit, and requests that photographs be taken of the location.

At the end of the investigation, the MP-AC will decide whether it is appropriate to file a public civil action, or whether it will ask for the records to be archived.

To the g1, José Henrique Maciel informed that he is aware of the opening of the investigation, but that it has not yet been formally notified. He says that he welcomes the opening of the procedure with peace of mind, and that he will answer all questions asked to the general management.

“At no time, before the opening of the civil investigation, was I contacted or informed about any irregular and/or structural situation regarding GECOT, which was transformed under our management into a specialized police station, DEFAZ. I understand that I only started structural improvements when, via government decree, the specialized police station was created to replace the GECOT group, and shortly afterwards an ordinance regulating its duties. Even with state competence and not just the capital”, he said.

The general delegate also highlighted decree 11,303, which includes DEFAZ among the state’s police units. Furthermore, the same decree also provides for the State Division of Criminal Investigations (DEIC).

José Henrique Maciel states that the legislation guarantees that the units have their own internal management mechanisms, and that there is no interference from the general management.

“The general delegate does not interfere in any way in the conduct of any criminal investigation. In fact, the current civil police officers there are from the time when I took over the PCAC, in April 2022, with the exception of the chief police officer,” he added.

The MP-AC inquiry is a new chapter in a series of allegations made against the general delegate. In October, deputy Michelle Melo (PDT) presented documents during a session at the Legislative Assembly of Acre (Aleac) that, according to her, indicate that Maciel bypassed the precatório queue by obtaining an extrajudicial agreement with the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE- B.C). The government claims that the case was filed by the MP. The agency did not confirm the filing for the g1.

The documentation shows the payment of R$ 211 thousand requested, according to the parliamentarian, improperly by Maciel. At the time of the allegations, he confirmed that he had spoken to the server about the crack complaint, but said that his objective was to find out what the allegations against him were. According to the general delegate, who denied the accusations, the allegations were unfounded, and also said that the conversation was recorded without his consent.

According to the reports presented by the parliamentarian, in 2018, when he was not yet general delegate, Maciel wrote an initial petition to receive 13 days of vacation that he did not take advantage of. When the court returned the request, Maciel informed him that he wished to withdraw from the action. In 2020, according to the complaint, he reached an extrajudicial agreement with PGE-AC to receive the amount.

According to Michelle, this movement shows that the police chief wanted to “jump the queue” for court orders. Generally, court orders are paid to civil servants when they retire and still have vacations or licenses that they did not take advantage of, and there is an order for this payment, and civil servants need to wait their turn.

Audios reveal conversation between general delegate and Civil Police employee

O g1 he also had access to other complaints involving the general delegate, from moral harassment to persecution within the Civil Police. The report had access to a recorded conversation between a Civil Police agent and the delegate. The year was 2020 and the agent was called after being heard in an investigation into an alleged ‘rachadinha’ scheme carried out by Maciel. He was removed from the general police station for two years, but returned in 2022.

At the time, even in the face of impasses, the government said in a statement that it trusted in the suitability and competence of the general delegate to manage the Civil Police. In the audio, the delegate intimidates the server by saying that he has information about alleged irregularities that he did not pursue, says that he is going to transfer delegates and that there is no one to go against him, who is the general delegate. (Listen to excerpts above)

Furthermore, in the complaint received by the g1there is news of employees on leave with psychological problems who have suffered moral and sexual harassment.

Regarding these complaints, Maciel also denies any inappropriate practices. He confirmed that he had spoken to the server about the crack complaint, but said that, at the time, his objective was to find out what the allegations against him were. According to the general delegate, the allegations were unfounded, and the conversation was recorded without his consent.

“There was a conversation, my conversation is because he denounced me without any proof, and I called him for a conversation. I asked what he had against me. If he understood it as intimidation, the purpose of the conversation was not in that sense. He was head of transport, he was the guy who reported me without me knowing, without any proof. And I called him for a conversation, and he, unethically, recorded me without my knowledge. He didn’t know, he recorded me, lightly, and I didn’t say anything there that I committed any crime, or that I asked him to. I even spoke to the Public Ministry. They are looking for something from 2019, 2020. There is a process now of denigrating my image”, he counters.

Regarding reports that he persecutes employees who disagree with him and of moral and sexual harassment, he also denies this. Maciel claims to have no knowledge of the cases, and says that he would need to know who each server is to clarify what happened.

He also argues that, often, routine conversations with servers can be understood as harassment.