Brazilian court orders arrest of former goalkeeper Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, known as Edinho and son of the legendary Pelé, in money laundering case
A Brazilian court today ordered the arrest of former goalkeeper Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, known as Edinho and son of the legendary Pelé, in the process in which he has already been convicted of money laundering, according to judicial sources.
Edinho, who was a goalkeeper for Santos and a coach for Mogi Mirim, had been waiting for two years for the São Paulo State Court of Justice to make a final decision on an appeal he filed against the sentence imposed in the first instance.
The court not only confirmed the conviction, although it reduced it from the initially imposed 33 years of imprisonment to 12 years and 10 months, but also ordered his immediate arrest to serve the sentence.
Edinho's lawyers reported that they will file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus this Friday so that the former football player can remain free while his case is decided by the Superior Court of Justice.
The former Santos goalkeeper was arrested in July 2013 to begin serving the sentence, but he only served six months of the penalty and a judge accepted the request of his lawyers to wait in freedom for a higher court to decide on the appeal against the sentence.
The case for which Edinho, one of Pelé's seven children, was tried dates back to 2005, when he was arrested along with 17 other people in a process in which he was accused of money laundering and association with drug trafficking.
At the time, Edinho denied all the accusations but admitted that he had drug problems, only as a consumer, and that he owed money to a friend, who was identified as the leader of a drug trafficking gang operating in the city of Santos.
The trial judge acquitted the former football player of the charges of drug trafficking and support for drug trafficking, but convicted him of the crime of laundering of illegal proceeds.