Primeiro Comando da Capital
Encyclopedia
Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC ("First Command of the Capital", pɾiˈmejɾu koˈmɐ̃du da kapiˈtaɫ), is an anti-establishment
Brazil
ian prison gang
and criminal organization founded in 1993 by inmates of Taubaté prison
in São Paulo
. Since its inception, PCC has been responsible for several criminal activities such as prison breaks
, prison riot
s, drug trafficking and highway robbery.
The name First Capital Command refers to the city of São Paulo, which is the capital of São Paulo state. The city and state having the same name, people from any part of São Paulo state often refer to the city as "the capital."
Penitentiary, called Piranhão (Big Piranha) in the state of São Paulo
. At the time this was the safest jail in the state.
The group got together during a soccer
game. When prisoners were transferred from the city of São Paulo
to the Piranhão as punishment for bad behavior, they decided to name their football team the Capital Command.
The initial members were Misael "Misa" Aparecido da Silva, Wander Eduardo "Cara Gorda" (Fat Face) Ferreira, Antônio Carlos Roberto da Paixão, Isaías "Esquisito" (Weird) Moreira do Nascimento, Ademar "Dafé" dos Santos, Antônio "Bicho Feio" (Ugly Beast) Carlos dos Santos, César "Césinha" (Little César) Augusto Roris da Silva and José "Geleião" (Big Jelly) Márcio Felício.
PCC, which was also formerly referred to as the Party of Crime, and as 15.3.3 (following the order of the letters "P" and "C" in the former Brazilian alphabet), was founded with a clear political agenda, aiming to "fight the oppression inside the São Paulo penitentiary system" and to "avenge the death of 111 prisoners," victims of the October 2, 1992 Carandiru massacre
, when the São Paulo State Military Police
stormed the now-extinct Casa de Detenção
(a very large prison
) and killed prisoners from its 9th pavilion in the process.
The group made use of the Chinese taititu ("yin yang") symbol as their emblem, saying it represented "a way to balance good and evil with wisdom." In February 2001, Idemir "Sombra" (Shadow) Carlos Ambrósio became the most prominent leader of the organization when he coordinated, by cell phone, simultaneous rebellions in 29 São Paulo state prisons, in which 16 prisoners were killed. "Sombra," also referred to as "father," was beaten to death on the Piranhão five months later by five members of the criminal faction in an internal struggle for the general command of the PCC. The PCC was led by "Geleião" and "Cesinha," responsible for the alliance with another criminal organization, Rio de Janeiro's
Comando Vermelho
.
Geleião and Cesinha, from the Bangú Penitentiary where they were held, went on to coordinate violent attacks against public buildings. Considered radicals by another moderate current of the PCC, they used terrorism to intimidate authorities of the prison system and were withdrawn from leadership in November 2002, when the leadership was taken by the current leader of the organization Marcos "Marcola" Willians Herbas Camacho. After he took over, the organization put a death bounty on Geleião and Cesinha, on the counts of having testified to the police and creating the Terceiro Comando da Capital (Third Capital Command, TCC).
Under the leadership of Marcola, also known as "Playboy," currently detained for bank robbery, the PCC took part in the March 2003 murder of Judge Antônio José Machado Dias, who ran the Penitentiary Readaptation Center (CRP) from Presidente Bernardes, São Paulo
, currently Brazil's most strict supermax
-style prison. The PCC also announced its objective to use prison uprisings as a way to demoralize the government and to destroy the CRP.
The organization is partly funded by its members, called "brothers." They are required to pay a monthly fee of R$
50.00 (about US $27) while in prison, or R$500.00 (about US $270) if they are outside of it. The money is used to buy weapons and drugs, and also to finance operations to bail out prisoners connected to the organization. In order to become a member of the PCC, the prospective member needs to be formally introduced by another regular member, taking an oath to follow its 16-clause statute.
. The attacks have apparently been organized by gang members in prison via cell phone.
On May 16, 2006 a couple was arrested with a copy of the statute.
Anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian prison gang
Prison gang
Prison gang is a term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG...
and criminal organization founded in 1993 by inmates of Taubaté prison
Taubaté Prison
Taubaté Prison is a prison in Taubaté in São Paulo, Brazil. It is notorious for containing some of the most violent prisoners, for repeated prison riots, and for being the place where the Primeiro Comando da Capital criminal gang originated.- External links :...
in São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
. Since its inception, PCC has been responsible for several criminal activities such as prison breaks
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
, prison riot
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....
s, drug trafficking and highway robbery.
The name First Capital Command refers to the city of São Paulo, which is the capital of São Paulo state. The city and state having the same name, people from any part of São Paulo state often refer to the city as "the capital."
History
The PCC was founded on August 31, 1993, by eight prisoners at TaubatéTaubaté
Taubaté is a city in the State of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. Its strategic geographical location, between the two most important Brazilian cities , being crossed by Presidente Dutra Highway which connects the two megacities, and between high, cold mountains and the Atlantic Ocean has...
Penitentiary, called Piranhão (Big Piranha) in the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
. At the time this was the safest jail in the state.
The group got together during a soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
game. When prisoners were transferred from the city of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
to the Piranhão as punishment for bad behavior, they decided to name their football team the Capital Command.
The initial members were Misael "Misa" Aparecido da Silva, Wander Eduardo "Cara Gorda" (Fat Face) Ferreira, Antônio Carlos Roberto da Paixão, Isaías "Esquisito" (Weird) Moreira do Nascimento, Ademar "Dafé" dos Santos, Antônio "Bicho Feio" (Ugly Beast) Carlos dos Santos, César "Césinha" (Little César) Augusto Roris da Silva and José "Geleião" (Big Jelly) Márcio Felício.
PCC, which was also formerly referred to as the Party of Crime, and as 15.3.3 (following the order of the letters "P" and "C" in the former Brazilian alphabet), was founded with a clear political agenda, aiming to "fight the oppression inside the São Paulo penitentiary system" and to "avenge the death of 111 prisoners," victims of the October 2, 1992 Carandiru massacre
Carandiru Massacre
The Carandiru massacre took place on Friday, October 2, 1992 in Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, and is considered a major human rights violation in the history of Brazil.-History:...
, when the São Paulo State Military Police
Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo
The Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo is a law enforcement agency of the military kind in the state of São Paulo, Brazil...
stormed the now-extinct Casa de Detenção
Carandiru Penitentiary
Carandiru Penitentiary was a notorious prison located in São Paulo, Brazil. The prison was designed and built by Samuel das Neves in 1920, when it was considered a model-prison to meet the new demands of the 1890 criminal code. It was operational from 1956 to 2002 and, at its peak, was South...
(a very large prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
) and killed prisoners from its 9th pavilion in the process.
The group made use of the Chinese taititu ("yin yang") symbol as their emblem, saying it represented "a way to balance good and evil with wisdom." In February 2001, Idemir "Sombra" (Shadow) Carlos Ambrósio became the most prominent leader of the organization when he coordinated, by cell phone, simultaneous rebellions in 29 São Paulo state prisons, in which 16 prisoners were killed. "Sombra," also referred to as "father," was beaten to death on the Piranhão five months later by five members of the criminal faction in an internal struggle for the general command of the PCC. The PCC was led by "Geleião" and "Cesinha," responsible for the alliance with another criminal organization, Rio de Janeiro's
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
Comando Vermelho
Comando Vermelho
Comando Vermelho is a Brazilian criminal organization founded in 1979 in the prison Cândido Mendes, on the Ilha Grande island, Rio de Janeiro, as a collection of ordinary convicts and left-wing political prisoners who were members of the Falange Vermelha , which fought the military dictatorship...
.
Under the leadership of Marcola, also known as "Playboy," currently detained for bank robbery, the PCC took part in the March 2003 murder of Judge Antônio José Machado Dias, who ran the Penitentiary Readaptation Center (CRP) from Presidente Bernardes, São Paulo
Presidente Bernardes, São Paulo
Presidente Bernardes is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 15,305 and the area is 755.78 km². The elevation is 429 m....
, currently Brazil's most strict supermax
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
-style prison. The PCC also announced its objective to use prison uprisings as a way to demoralize the government and to destroy the CRP.
The organization is partly funded by its members, called "brothers." They are required to pay a monthly fee of R$
Brazilian real
The real is the present-day currency of Brazil. Its sign is R$ and its ISO code is BRL. It is subdivided into 100 centavos ....
50.00 (about US $27) while in prison, or R$500.00 (about US $270) if they are outside of it. The money is used to buy weapons and drugs, and also to finance operations to bail out prisoners connected to the organization. In order to become a member of the PCC, the prospective member needs to be formally introduced by another regular member, taking an oath to follow its 16-clause statute.
May 2006 attacks
Since the beginning of Friday May 12, 2006 there have been 299 attacks against public establishments such as police stations, justice forums, buses, etc; which are allegedly organized by the PCC. The violence represents the bloodiest assault of its kind in the history of Brazil's richest state, São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. The attacks have apparently been organized by gang members in prison via cell phone.
The Statute
The Primeiro Comando da Capital has a statute with various rules for the criminal organization. Disobeying the rules, says the statute, carries a penalty of death.On May 16, 2006 a couple was arrested with a copy of the statute.
