Pele’s son Edinho sentenced to 33 years in prison for money laundering
Edinho, a former Brazilian goalkeeper, most notably known to be son of football legend Pele and his first wife Rosemeri Cholbi Nascimento, has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after being charged with money laundering through drug trafficking.
After retiring from football, Edinho has been involved in numerous legal cases with him being arrested for the first time on June 6, 2005 in a police operation to dismantle a gang of drug traffickers in the city of Santos.
Following that, Edinho has admitted that he was addicted to marijuana, and denied any trafficking charges.
He was granted a temporary release soon, however, this week the court came to a decision, and found Edinho, aged 46, guilty of money laundering for ties with a drug cartel led by Ronaldo Duarte Barsotti. He has been sentenced to 33 years in prison, with will be allowed to appeal against the punishment.
Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money raised from drug trafficking http://t.co/wa2Di2grwJ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 1, 2014In 1999, Edinho has previously been convicted for the murder Pedro Simoes Neto in Santos in 1999 as a result of reckless car racing.
Pele was known to visit his son in jail on numerous occasions, and when asked about whether he feels if his son is guilty of the crimes accused, the often-acclaimed greatest footballer of all time, Pele said, "God willing, justice will be done. There is not a shred of evidence against my son."