Authorities in Brazil are searching for a mayor accused of stealing funds from schools and running her town via a mobile messenger app.
Prosecutors say that instead of living in Bom Jardim, Lidiane Leite, 25, resided 170 miles away in Sao Luis, the capital of Maranhao state. They say Leite — who was elected after her then-boyfriend, Beto Rocha, was barred from running for mayor in 2012 for alleged corruption — would use WhatsApp to check in with her cabinet, running the town's affairs remotely.
Leite took off when she was mentioned as part of Operation Eden, which discovered that $4 million earmarked for Bom Jardim's school was gone, the BBC reports. Bom Jardim is in one of the country's poorest states, and teachers in the town now aren't being paid. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday, and the town's new mayor was sworn in Saturday, promising to support a full investigation into the missing money. Leite's attorney, Carlos Barros, denies that his client did anything wrong. "She was too young and inexperienced when she took office," he said. "She lacked confidence and delegated many tasks to Mr. Rocha."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
