“I will fight to defend myself!” Mr. Santos posted this afternoon, adding: “Donate so I can keep fighting for you!”
The case in Brazil stems from an incident in June 2008 in which Mr. Santos entered a store in the city of Niterói, outside Rio de Janeiro, according to law enforcement authorities. Using a fake name and a stolen checkbook he bought items, including a pair of tennis shoes, court records show.
A few days later, another man walked into the store looking to return the shoes, according to court records. He later told the police that they were gifts from his friend Anthony, who “seems to have a good financial situation, because of his designer clothes and the places he goes, like expensive nightclubs and restaurants.”
Mr. Santos would later confess the crime to the police and the shopkeeper. He was formally charged in September 2011, but the case was dropped when prosecutors could not find him.
The case fell into a kind of administrative limbo but was revived in January when news reports revealed that Mr. Santos – who was born in the United States but spent time in Brazil – lives in New York and was elected to Congress.
The salesman, Carlos Bruno de Castro Simões, is puzzled by Mr. Santos’ journey from small plots to Washington, DC
“For sure he has a disease,” Mr. Simões said in court, adding: “It makes me think of the myth of Icarus, the man who took a bunch of feathers and flew so close to the sun that the feathers melted and he fell down and died.”
The closure of the Brazil case will relieve some pressure on Mr. Santos, a Republican who has vowed to continue serving in Congress and seek re-election in 2024. Under congressional rules, representatives can continue to serve while they are under indictment, and even after being convicted of a crime unless it involves treason.
Jack Nicas contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro, and Now Demirjian and Catie Edmondson from Washington.
