Scandal-plagued Brazilian politician jailed again

RIO DE JANEIRO: A scandal-plagued top politician in Rio de Janeiro was ordered by a court Tuesday to go back to jail, just four days after the state legislature provoked an uproar by letting him out. Jorge Picciani, speaker of the state legislature, surrendered to police after an appeals court overturned the legislature’s earlier ruling, local media reported. The assembly on Friday had voted overwhelmingly to let him out while he awaits trial, arguing it had authority over sitting politicians. That vote prompted fury from many in a city exasperated with rampant corruption and crime. According to prosecutors, Picciani was part of a graft scheme headed by state governor Sergio Cabral, who a year ago was convicted and sentenced to more than 14 years prison. Picciani is a member of the center-right PMDB party of President Michel Temer, himself the first president in Brazil to be charged with corruption while in office.