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Brazilian radio host arrested and charged with extortion

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  • January 31, 2011

By Adriana Prado

Radio announcer Ivan Carlos de Oliveira Silva was arrested Jan. 26 in the northeastern Brazilian city of Salvador, Bahia, and charged with extorting his former boss: businessman Diogo Medrado, son of Federal Deputy Marcos Medrado of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT). According to A Tarde, the host was fired from the younger Medrado’s station in December and had allegedly asked the businessman for almost $90,000 in cash and a $40,000 car to not release unflattering recordings.

A Brazilian police fraud unit told Agência Estado that the businessman had called the police and a warrant for Silva’s arrest was issued. The announcer claims that the money was owed as a work-related debt, but the police said several emails prove he was engaged in criminal extortion.

Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.

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