Brazil Crime Group Once Again Bares Claws

Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, center, is escorted by police in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in this Nov 7, 2005 file photo. Less than a year ago a top Sao Paulo law enforcement officer boasted police had all but destroyed one of Brazil's most notorious crime groups. This week, the PCC proved him deadly wrong, unleashing an unprecedented four-day crime wave that left at least 100 people dead, among them 40 police officers. The PCC is an extremely dangerous group because its leadership is made up of young, violent criminals who are much more intelligent than your run-of-the mill bandit, Walter Fanganiello Maierovitch, an expert on organized crime and Brazil's former drug czar said. (AP Photo/Jorge Santos-AGENCIA ESTADO) (Jorge Santos - AP)

"It won't be easy to dismantle the PCC because there is no central command to be destroyed," Mingardi said. "It is structured in such a way that if its top leadership is killed or completely isolated, someone else will take over."

There are no official numbers on the size of the PCC, but Mingardi estimated its membership comprises some 10,000 people in and out of prison who are involved in drug and arms trafficking, bank holdups, kidnappings, extortion and killings.

Petty criminals who are indebted to the PCC and those wanting to join the group are forced to take part in attacks against police targets like the ones that have taken place this week, Mingardi said.

The PCC stages spectacular attacks to "intimidate society and demoralize authorities," said Walter Fanganiello Maierovitch, an expert on organized crime and Brazil's former drug czar.

The purpose, he said, is to force authorities to negotiate with the group so it can obtain benefits like longer visiting hours, better food, conjugal visits and television sets that give it more power and prestige behind bars.

This week's attacks against buses and banks show that the PCC, which normally aims its wrath against police, has now included civilians on its hit list, Maierovitch said. He fears this means the group will one day begin targeting such individuals as judges, journalists and politicians.

Mingardi disagrees.

"I think the PCC will think twice before going after civilians because it doesn't want to risk attracting the hatred of residents in the poverty stricken suburbs of Sao Paulo where they recruit their new members _ young boys and girls with no future ahead of them," he said.

The PCC is an extremely dangerous group because its leadership is made up of young, violent criminals who are more intelligent than ordinary criminals, Maierovitch said.

"Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, the top leader of the PCC, is an extremely bright person," he said. "He has even read 'Dante's Inferno' so he knows very well how to turn our lives into a veritable hell."