Ele Rouba, Mas Ele Faz (He Steals, But He Gets Things Done)This is a phrase that someone once claimed was used by former São Paulo Mayor, Paulo Maluf. In The Economist's city briefing for São Paulo this month it appears that some of the allegations that have persisted about Maluf for years are starting to take root:

As mayor of São Paulo during the 1990s, Paulo Maluf was known for the highways and other public works he built. Ever since, he has been dogged by allegations that he profited from the large contracts he commissioned, and stashed the money abroad. Mr Maluf has always denied the charges, once saying that if anyone found a foreign account in his name he would give all the money to charity. But in the past week the Brazilian press has published the most incriminating evidence yet: what appears to be Mr Maluf’s signature on a document naming him as a beneficiary of a Swiss bank account. Another document indicates that on a single day in 1995 one of Mr Maluf’s accounts received credits of $345m. Brasil is sure that there are several charities in Brazil that could use Maluf's money. He claims that all this is being done to short-circuit another attempt for him to run for mayor this year. São Paulo needs a mayor whose campaign slogan is "Ele só faz" (He only gets things done).

FORMER MAYOR OF SAO PAULO, PAULO MALUF, HELD BY POLICE IN PARIS Initially posted Thursday, 24 July 2003 12:00:00 GMT P ARIS, July 24 (AFP) A former mayor of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, Paulo Maluf, was detained and questioned for several hours by police in Paris on Thursday, police sources said. They said Maluf was held at the headquarters of a special police unit in charge of combatting financial crimes in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, from where he was released Thursday afternoon.