SAO PAOLO, Brazil, Jan. 22, 2007
Suspect In $70M Brazil Heist Found Dead
Police Find Man Accused In August 2005 Robbery Bound With Broken Neck Inside 75-Foot Well
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The Central Bank of Brazil building where the robbery took place through a tunnel to the vault, Fortaleza, Ceara State, Brazil, Aug. 8, 2005. (APTN)
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Tunnel dug inside a building that leads to a vault where thieves robbed the Central Bank of Brazil, Fortaleza, Ceara State, Brazil, Aug. 8, 2005. (APTN)
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Anselmo Oliveira Magalhaes, 32, was found by police on Saturday with a broken neck and his hands and feet tied inside a 75-foot well at the ranch in the interior city of Santa Izabel, said Luciana Araripi, a spokeswoman for the Sao Paulo state Public Safety Department.
Magalhaes was one of nearly 40 people formally accused of taking part in the August 2005 heist — one of the world's largest ever — at the central bank branch in Fortaleza, 1,500 miles northeast of Sao Paulo.
The bodies of two other men were found in the well, but it wasn't immediately clear whether they had any connection to the bank heist, authorities said. Two women at the ranch were detained for interrogation.
An anonymous tip led police to the ranch, authorities said. Magalhaes' relatives had reported him missing since Thursday.
Magalhaes was arrested shortly after the heist and police said he confessed to being one of the men who helped build a tunnel that led into the central bank branch. He was freed pending trial.
Authorities said most of the people formally accused in the heist allegedly belonged to the First Capital Command gang, one of Brazil's most notorious organized crime groups.
Some $8 million of the stolen cash has been recovered throughout Brazil since the heist.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- It is so sad cause the real bad guys get away with the money stolen and the small fries get the balme for it.
Where is the real Justice in this crime.
Every single one of them needs to be caught and go to jail. - Reply to this comment
- Just as he was turning his life around! Sniffle....
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- When I first read the title of the story I thought to myself, "Well he died rich and happy" after reading the story....ummm maybe not...
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- Now dats what I call some mighty expensive cement shoes!
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- "Goodfellas'" of Brazil
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