RIO DE JANEIRO A multimillionaire who cooked up a fortune by making meals for Brazilian prisons got a taste of his own poorly rated cuisine after he was put behind bars on Monday, police said.
Jair Coelho, a 68-year-old magnate known as the "king of the lunch box," was jailed pending formal charges regarding an investigation of his role in alleged fraud and racketeering linked to a lucrative contract to supply all the prison food in Rio de Janeiro State, or about 22,000 boxed meals a day.
The quality of the food supplied by Coelho's company has been criticized by prison officials and prisoners alike.
Coelho was put in a cell with 12 other men, mostly white-collar and elderly criminals who were not considered dangerous.
"This precaution was taken because there was a risk of retaliation from prisoners who eat the food supplied by his company," said Alvaro Lins, director at the Rio de Janeiro port prison.
With the monopoly on prison food, Coelho and his wife became prominent figures in Rio's so-called "emergent society," formed by a handful of new wealthy families.
Coelho and the other inmates ate rice, beans, creamed corn and meat with tomato sauce for lunch on Monday, prison officials said.
(Reuter)