Soccer legend Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in jail

AP Photo/Nelson Antoine

Soccer legend Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in jail
(Image credit: AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)

Edinho, son of Brazilian soccer star Pele, was sentenced to 33 years in jail this week for his role in laundering money raised in a drug trafficking operation.

Edinho, whose real name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, is a 43-year-old goalkeeping coach for Santos, his father's former team, notes BBC News. While Edinho has admitted to a drug problem, he denies his role in the trafficking operation, and officials expect him to appeal the ruling. The third son from Pele's first marriage, Edinho moved to New York when his father played for the Cosmos, before returning to Brazil and serving as Santos' goalkeeper in the 1995 Brazilian league final.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.