STJ Denies Habeas Corpus Request and Keeps Milton Leite Detained

The ruling lets investigators continue gathering evidence in a probe of alleged PCC control over São Paulo bus companies by preserving temporary detention.

Overview

Police arrested Milton Leite after he surrendered on Friday in Operação Vectura Corrupta and a court ordered his temporary detention to aid evidence collection in a complex probe.
Investigators seized a hidden passage and about R$765,000 in cash at Leite’s Sorocaba home and recovered documents and phone extractions that prosecutors say link him to firms the PCC controlled.
STJ minister Rogério Schietti rejected the habeas corpus petition on the ground that higher courts cannot usually review interlocutory denials and found ‘concrete indicia’ supporting the detention order.
The habeas filing was signed by an attorney not listed as Leite’s counsel, and prosecutors are probing possible leaks after the ex-councilman’s Santo Amaro office was broken into and a DVR was stolen.
The case builds on earlier investigations that targeted Transwolff and other carriers for alleged money laundering and led the city to cancel contracts, and the probe’s next steps include further document analysis and possible formal charges.