Castor de Andrade

Castor Gonçalves de Andrade e Silva (12 February 1926 – 11 April 1997) was a well-known bicheiro in Rio de Janeiro.

Castor was born in 1926 to a family who was very involved in the jogo do Bicho.

His grandmother Iaiá was already known as a jogo do Bicho lottery operator.

His father, Eusébio de Andrade e Silva, invested in cattle raising and founded a transport company.

Castor had a carefree infancy.

He studied in the traditional school Colégio Pedro II, but frequently skipped classes to go to the beaches of the neighborhood of Flamengo.

This, however, did not prevent him from graduating in law.

Castor inherited the jogo do Bicho office of his grandmother and father and with his uncles transformed it to an illicit gambling empire – taking over more and more pontos (points-of-sale) where the lottery dealers collect money and keep record of the bets.

He would eventually expand to slot machines and video poker as well.

He rose to power despite his reputation.

After the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, various generals paid homage to him.

The military regime was unable to crack down on the illegal lottery.

The Secretary of Security of Rio de Janeiro of that time, General Waldir Alves Muniz, received an instruction to "avoid problems with Castor de Andrade".

Ex-president João Figueiredo one day broke the protocol, departing from a group of authorities who surrounded him to personally greet the bicheiro.

Castor de Andrade and his son Paulo Roberto de Andrade operated the illegal lottery in Marechal Hermes, Padre Miguel, Bangu, Santíssimo, Senador Camará, Mangaratiba and Ibicuí.

He was considered a romantic bicheiro, who did not allow other unnecessary businesses, such as drug trafficking, to be explored together with the illicit lottery.

He managed a metal-working business that over the years had produced war material for the Brazilian armed forces, and he owned gasoline stations and a used car agency.

Castor de Andrade was the major sponsor of Bangu Atlético Clube and was even called the "owner of Bangu".

Although he never served as president of the club, he often held high positions and the president always obeyed him and never made a decision without seeking advice from him first.

Under his leadership the club won the Campeonato Carioca in 1966.

The players referred to him as their "father" and every week he used to hand out money to them.

He was accused several times of intimidating referees into giving his team assistance.

Once, in a game against América, in the Maracanã stadium, he invaded the field with a revolver.

He demanded an explanation from the referee regarding his decision to grant a penalty in favour of América.

Bangu was ahead 2 to 1 and América tied.

The referee later granted another penalty, this time in favour of Bangu.

Castor's team won 3 to 2.

Since the 1970s, most of the big samba schools had a "patron" related to the jogo do Bicho.

Castor de Andrade was the patron of the Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel samba school.

Under his leadership Mocidade won the Rio Carnival title in 1979, 1985, 1990, 1991, and 1996.

His participation in the Carnival was not limited to his samba school.

For decades he invested money in the organization of parades.

From the 1980s, Castor de Andrade was the uncontested leader of all the main bicheiros of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and had more than 100 policemen and a number of public servants, prominent politicians, and judges working for him.

Castor was also very involved in the Brazilian Carnival and in soccer—he was the major sponsor of Bangu Atlético Clube and even called the "owner of Bangu", and he was also the patron of samba school Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel.

He also helped found in 1984 the Liga Independente das Escolas de Samba do Rio de Janeiro, which has run the Rio de Janeiro Carnival ever since and has served as the legal cover for the "jogo do Bicho cartel".

In 1993, Castor de Andrade and 13 other major bicheiros were arrested.

They were each sentenced to six years of prison, but Castor obtained a habeas corpus and was released in the same year.

In March 1994, a subsequent operation managed to break Castor's stronghold.

Documents revealed the names of the many policemen, politicians, judges, public servants, and other prominent people who were profiting from his illegal activities.

After his death in April 1997, the heirs to his fortune began fighting each other over the inheritance, and this led to the murder of his son, Paulo de Andrade, in October 1998.