Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro have charged four men over the murder of lawyer Rodrigo Marinho Crespo, 42, shot dead on February 26, 2024, in front of the local headquarters of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-RJ), on Avenida Marechal Câmara, in the city center. The charges were brought by the Gaeco, the organized crime unit of the Rio state prosecutor's office, after homicide detectives closed their investigation, and name gambling boss Adilson Oliveira Coutinho Filho, known as Adilsinho, as the mastermind, according to G1 and O Globo. On Monday (24), police arrested one of the accused, active duty military police officer Renato Franco Lopes, nicknamed Pitbull or Fantasma, of the 15th Battalion.
According to the indictment, Adilsinho runs a criminal organization involved in illegal gambling, cigarette smuggling and killings, and is seen as one of the main leaders of the new top tier of the jogo do bicho, Brazil's traditional illegal numbers game. Ryan Patrick Barboza de Oliveira, known as Motinha, is accused of tracking the lawyer's routine in the days before the crime. Rafael Ferreira Silva, known as Cachoeira and identified as the driver of the car used in the operation, has been on the run since escaping a police operation in 2025. Prosecutors say Renato and Rafael stayed inside the gunman's vehicle and supported the getaway. Adilsinho and Ryan were already in jail and were served the preventive detention warrants last Wednesday, O Globo reported.
For prosecutors, the motive was economic. Crespo was studying a move into the online betting market and was looking for investors: he planned to open a betting house in Botafogo, in Rio's South Zone, a territory whose jogo do bicho trade came under the control of Adilsinho's group from 2023, according to G1. O Globo reported that the lawyer also planned a "sports bar" with slot-style machines. In the prosecution's assessment, the execution removed a possible competitor and served to intimidate others interested in the same market.
A planned crime
The investigation concluded the homicide was planned and carried out in a coordinated way, with tasks split among the participants. The lawyer was monitored for days on his trips between his home in Barra da Tijuca and his office downtown. The findings were based on the lifting of phone and data secrecy, cell phone location data, security camera footage, vehicle tracking and forensic analysis, according to G1. Prosecutors classified the crime as qualified homicide, committed for base motives, through an ambush and with means that left the victim defenseless. They also argue the action shows typical traits of an extermination squad, citing the planning, the logistics and the use of restricted weapons.
Rio's 3rd Criminal Court accepted the charges and ordered preventive detention for all four. Adilsinho was ordered to remain in a maximum security federal penitentiary for three years, and Renato Franco Lopes was suspended from police duty and had his gun carry permit suspended. Ryan was arrested during the investigation of another crime attributed to Adilsinho's gang, the killing of Antônio Gaspazianne Mesquita Chaves, owner of the bar Parada Obrigatória, in Vila Isabel, in the North Zone, also in 2024, G1 reported.