Former mayor is arrested in Barreirinha: conviction for irregularities in tenders The former mayor of Barreirinha, in the interior of Amazonas, Mecias Pereira Batista, aged 62, was arrested on Sunday (12) to serve a sentence for embezzlement. He was convicted of using City Hall resources to buy airline tickets for family members and other people with no ties to the municipal administration during the period he was in charge of the municipality. The conviction was handed down by the Barreirinha District Court in October 2023. Mecias received a sentence of six years, seven months and 28 days in prison. The arrest occurred after the case became final. g1 tries to contact the former mayor's defense. According to the complaint from the Public Ministry of the State of Amazonas (MPAM), the crimes occurred between 2009 and 2016, a period in which Mecias was mayor and authorized the municipality's expenses. ? Join the g1 AM channel on WhatsApp According to the process, resources from Barreirinha City Hall were used to issue airline tickets to family members of the then mayor and to people who were neither civil servants nor provided services to the municipality. The investigation showed that Mecias' children and grandchildren traveled several times between Manaus and Parintins with tickets paid for by the city hall. The process also mentions a former municipal secretary who continued to receive the benefit even after leaving office to run for a state deputy seat. In his sentence, judge Lucas Couto Bezerra stated that the former mayor's conduct was more serious because the main beneficiaries were direct relatives. According to the judge, the practice violated the principle of impersonality in public administration. In addition to the prison sentence, the Court ruled that Mecias was disqualified from holding a public position or function, whether elective or by appointment, after the conviction became final. He must also reimburse the public coffers for the amounts spent on purchasing tickets. The amount will be defined in a specific action. The former mayor of Barreirinha Mecias Pereira Batista Reproduction/Social Networks