Anthony Garotinho
Brazilian politician Anthony Garotinho. Twitter/@byzango

Latin America has been plagued by many political scandals and the controversy is far from ending. With a lack of control over government, It is being reported that a Brazilian politician is currently behind bars for suspicion of attempted voter-rigging.

According to FOX News Latino, Anthony Garotinho, a former governor of Rio de Janeiro state and presidential hopeful, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted vote-rigging in last month's municipal elections.

Garotinho arrest came just hours before demonstrators, in an unrelated event, stormed barricades around the Rio state assembly house, calling on legislators to reject an austerity package meant to restore order to the state's troubled finances.

Garotinho who recently served as an evangelical pastor and radio personality, governed Rio state from 1992 to 2002, when he made a run for president and finished third in the election that brought Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to power.

The site reports that Garotinho was detained at his home under a warrant issued by Judge Glaucenir Silva de Oliveira, who is overseeing an investigation of alleged irregularities in the October balloting.

Garotinho has been serving as municipal secretary in Campos dos Goytacazes, a city north of Rio where his wife, Rosinha Matheus, another former governor, is serving as mayor. Despite repeated denials of wrongdoing by each, have been frequent targets of corruption allegations.

Federal Police say they suspect Garotinho of involvement in a scheme that included vote-buying on behalf of candidates for the municipal councils in Campos and other cities in the state.

There is no word on Garotinho's legal team speaking out against the allegations.

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