When commenting on the results of the elections in Rio – where he tried, without success, for a seat in the legislature -, actor Mário Gomes, 69, declared to F5 that he believed in a fake news attributed to the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, that residences would be divided compulsorily with other families.
“My wife and I are worried about losing our home,” he said. Justice, however, has already decided the loss of the mansion where he lives with his wife and two children. The property was auctioned to pay off a labor debt with seamstresses.
Supporter of current President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Gomes made the statement, with an alarmist tone, worried about a possible victory for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the second round. What he didn’t reveal is that he is involved in a legal imbroglio that started in 2007.
When disbanding a clothing company, Gomes owed salaries to 84 seamstresses in Paraná, in debt valued, at the time, at R$923,000. To pay the default, the Labor Court determined in 2011 that the property be auctioned. It was sold for R$720,000, equivalent to 48% of the appraisal value of R$1.5 million.
The bidder is an association of public servants that, despite having its name inserted in the RGI (General Property Registry) document, did not have its title deed definitively. Gomes and his wife, Raquel Palma, rent the house for parties through Airbnb and in 2021, they made a profit of BRL 35,800 from the rentals.
Even living there, they do not pay the IPTU: the debt is already at R$ 94 thousand. The bill goes to the association, which also collects condo fees and fire fees.
Stable union canceled auction, ‘unannounced’ later
Gomes bought the land in 1986, at the height of his fame as a Globo actor. In the 2000s, he met Raquel, with whom he had two children. She, an architect, decided to design the house for the family to live in.
With the decline of the actor’s career and the bankruptcy of his clothing company, the debts grew. With the house already auctioned, Raquel contested the decision, stating that she had not been summoned. Because she has a stable relationship with the actor, she would share the property.
The TRT (Regional Labor Court), of Paraná, where the labor claim is being processed, recognized Raquel’s argument and annulled all procedural acts subsequent to the attachment. The association then filed a rescissory action, contesting the decision, and won.
Raquel again contested the decision, but the TRT, in a decision on the 4th of this month of October, pointed out that both had not formalized the stable union at the time of the auction. Sought after, Raquel’s lawyer did not respond to the contact to find out if the decision can still be appealed. The defense of the bidder’s association said it will not comment.
Sought again by Folha, Mário Gomes did not respond to inquiries from the report about the auction of the house. The lawyers involved in the case did not comment.
In Entre Rios do Oeste, located 508 km from Curitiba, where seamstresses are waiting for their salaries to be paid, there is hope. “Every day someone calls the office to find out when they will receive the money,” said lawyer Márcia Tumelero.
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