International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2018 | Page 27

International Journal on Criminology
organization: 1) conducting its activities in the State of Rio; 2) specializing in the
operation of electronic games of chance and casinos; 3) established and structured
with the aim of committing crimes that included bribing officials, influence peddling,
money laundering, tax evasion, and smuggling electronic products, among
others. 42 When handing out the sentences, Judge Ana Paula Vieira de Carvalho described
the Bicheiros as a group that displayed the essential elements associated
with a criminal organization: multiple agents, stability and longevity, profit on assets
as their objective, and a very complex structure. She identified further elements,
perhaps less essential, that characterize the sophisticated structure of such
a criminal organization: a rigid hierarchy, division of labor, compartmentalization
and secrecy (for example an absence of contacts—telephonic, sms, emails, and so
on—between the cupola and lower ranks), connections with the state, through the
bribery of officials and financing of electoral campaigns, involvement in legal and
illegal markets, and territorial control. 43
The structure of this organization reflects the mafia model: the rigid hierarchy
that the cupola maintains; the Club Baron de Drummond acting as a “court
of law” for conflict resolution; territorial control; and recourse to violence and
intimidation. This is evidenced in a petition seized during the raids, addressed to
the Club Baron de Drummond, in which a bicheiro reports that a rival is accusing
him of murders in order to take control of a region. However, while the data
demonstrates the existence of a mafia-style group, the modernization of organized
crime requires its practitioners to adopt an entrepreneurial attitude to management,
using shell companies set up in the name of accomplices.
Similarly to the Italian Mafia, this organization is not only involved in illegal
activities: it also controls legal businesses such as restaurants, hotels, sports halls,
medical practices, and shipping companies. It is important to note that the organization
also functions as a network, enabling the leaders to profit from the action
of accomplices working on behalf of the group. This is a criminal organization
structured on a business model as well as a mafia model, active in both legal and
illegal markets.
The criminal group consists of entrepreneurs and mafiosi linked to games of
chance and other legal activities, who require protection—from lobbyists, lawyers,
officials, and public servants—to ensure the smooth running of their businesses.
The group bribes police in a number of the Federation’s States, as well as judges
and prosecutors. It finances the electoral campaigns of numerous politicians so that
they will vote on laws that benefit them, including the legalization of casinos and
slot machines. At least temporarily, Operation Furacão has checked their ambitions.
42 Trial record no. 2007.51.01.802985-5, Justiça Federal, Rio de Janeiro, 2012
43 Decision of Judge Ana Paula de Carvalho in trial record no. 2007.51.01.802985-5, Justiça
Federal, Rio de Janeiro, 2012: 446. Accessed February 12, 2018 https://www.conjur.com.br/dl/
sentenca-300.pdf
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