Gambling ring ties get Brazil senator ousted

BRASILIA—Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday ousted opposition Senator Demostenes Torres after an in-house impeachment for his alleged ties to the leader of a gambling ring detained in February.

In a 56-19 vote, senators ousted Torres for taking orders from Carlos Augusto Ramos. Known by the nickname Carlinhos Cachoeira, Ramos was arrested in February for money laundering, smuggling and illegal gambling.

Torres, who resigned from the conservative Democratic party, became only the second senator to be removed from office, along with Luiz Estevado in a 2000 corruption case.

He insisted he had done nothing wrong, and pleaded in tears to his colleagues not to “end his life.”

The Ramos case has sent shivers through Brazilian politicians as corruption is a scourge just starting to be addressed. Local media reports have lined Ramos to at least four governors and six national lawmakers.

The ruling Workers Party faces trial over corruption allegations in August.

Back in 2005, the party was accused of cooking its books and bribing lawmakers, which created a political crisis that rocked the government of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010).