Arrested by the Federal Police this Tuesday (16), federal judge Macário Ramos Júdice Neto, of the TRF-2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region), declared the suspicions and requested the redistribution of all processes related to Operation Zargum. The case sent former Rio de Janeiro lawmaker Thiego Raimundo dos Santos Silva, known as TH Joias, to prison in September.
Macário is also accused by the PF of being in a restaurant with Rodrigo Bacellar (União) when he called TH Joias and warned him that he would be arrested. The judge denies it.
In a document sent to the president of the first specialized section of the court, Macário claims to be detained at the PF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro without having had access, until that moment, to the decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), which determined his arrest and the imposition of precautionary measures. He therefore says he does not know if he has been formally dismissed from his position.
The judge indicates that there is a session scheduled for December 18, during which the preventive detentions must be re-evaluated within the legal deadline. To avoid any stress in court, he requests that all processes of Operation Zargum be transferred to another office of the First Specialized Section. According to him, the simple summons of a federal judge to take over the files is not provided for in the regulations when it concerns an original criminal action.
Macário also asks that the change preserves the civil servants currently working in his office and says that the measure aims to protect the institutional image of the TRF-2.
In addition to the note to the court, the defense presented a request to the STF to quash the arrest or, alternatively, replace it with less severe measures, such as banning all contact with those under investigation and requiring them to remain in the country. The request was made even without access to the decision that supported the arrest.
In the petition, the judge denies the version that he had dinner with State Deputy Rodrigo Bacellar at the time he made telephone contact with TH Joias, an episode identified by the investigation as a possible circumstance of information leak. According to the defense, the meeting never took place.
Lawyers say cameras installed in the building where Macário lives and georeferencing data would prove he was at home and preparing for a planned trip. They also claim that the contacts maintained with Bacellar would be “simply insignificant”, limited to messages about football or banal communications, without any connection with the processes falling under its coverage.
Bacellar was arrested in early December because of this case, but Alerj decided to release him. He took a leave of absence from his mandate and is not expected to return to his post until 2026.
Macário is the rapporteur of the criminal action against TH Joias, a former Rio state deputy under investigation for his ties to Comando Vermelho.
The judge’s arrest took place as part of the second phase of Operation Nail and Flesh, which is investigating the alleged leak of confidential information about investigations carried out by the federal police. The operation was authorized by Moraes and is part of the so-called ADPF das Favelas, which ordered the PF to investigate links between violent criminal organizations and public officials in Rio de Janeiro.
In addition to the preventive arrest of Macário, the PF carried out searches and seizures in Rio and Espírito Santo, including at addresses linked to Bacellar and his chief of staff. The MP’s defense claims that he has always cooperated with investigations and denies any involvement in the events.
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