I don't know if any of this is true, but if it is, it could be devastating for the PT:
After Celso Daniel, mayor of this industrial city [Santo Andre in São Paulo State], was kidnapped and shot to death on Jan. 20, 2002, leaders of his Workers' Party were quick to blame right-wing death squads. They organized an international protest campaign, which ended only after the police concluded that Mr. Daniel had been the victim of a common crime.But two years later, little appears common about Mr. Daniel's death. His relatives and prosecutors who reopened the case now say he was killed in a dispute over a multimillion-dollar slush fund that, the relatives say, was meant to benefit the campaign war chest of what is now Brazil's governing party.
According to one of the mayor's brothers, João Francisco Daniel, the slush fund involved two senior party officials, who are now on the staff of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and as such are among the most powerful men in Brazil. The two dismiss any talk of improprieties, and are not facing charges. The Workers' Party president, José Genoino, and other party leaders deny the existence of graft here or the involvement of senior party officials.
I remember reading in Latin Trade a few years ago, that businessmen, even though they found themselves often on the other side of the political spectrum from the PT, they had found less corruption in states and cities that had governors and mayors who were PT members. I certainly don't want to rush to judgment, but it will be interesting to see where this investigation goes.
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