“[T]hey organized a kind of death squad to execute rivals who disputed with them the drug trafficking business [and Wallace Souza] would eliminate his rival and use the killing as a news story for his program.” – Police intelligence chief Thomaz Vasconcelos, Associated Press, 8/11/09
A murder victim Wallace Souza filmed for his Brazilian crime show before the police arrived.
Wallace Souza, the host of the Canal Livre crime show in Brazil’s lawless Amazonas region, consistently delivered graphic footage of murder victims well before the police arrived on the scene. Souza, a state legislator, is now being probed for ordering the killings to help boost the ratings of his show, and he faces separate charges of drug trafficking and involvement with a gang.
Souza became a media personality after his career as a police officer ended in disgrace. He started Canal Livre in the 1990s on a station in Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state.
“The order to execute always came from the legislator and his son, who then alerted the TV crews to get to the scene before the police,” state police intelligence chief Thomaz Vasconcelos alleged to The Associated Press. Vasconcelos further stated that the killings “appear to have been committed to get rid of his rivals and increase the audience of the TV show.”
Souza’s son, Rafael, has been jailed on charges of homicide, drug trafficking and illegal gun possession. The elder Souza denies all charges.
Click here to read the latest developments.
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