Álvaro Neves was a Brazilian criminal, the founder and leader of the Crachá Preto gang, a former Captain in the Unidade de Forças Especiais from 2001 until 2005, and a key figure in the organs harvesting scandal. He is a supporting antagonist of Max Payne 3.
Biography
Before Cracha Preto
Álvaro Neves was born in 1967, possibly in Sao Paulo. At some point before 2001, Neves joined the Unidade de Forças Especiais, eventually becoming a Captain in the Unit during his service.
Neves was accused of orchestrating the executions of two left-wing politicians in September 2004, and then was suspected in an involvement of string of extrajudicial killings of gang members in 2004 and 2005.
Over his time in the force, Neves became disillusioned with the justice system’s failure to win the war on crime in São Paulo, leading him to quit the police force in November 2005.
Founding the Crachá Preto
In 2006, Neves co-founded the Crachá Preto gang, along with other officers who left the police force. In 2007, he recruited an ex-soldier called Milo Rego, who soon became his right-hand man.
Under his and Rego's command, the Crachá Preto began to kidnap people, torture and kill them, selling their organs to rich and decent people. Neves also started to work for the right-wing senator Victor Branco and the commander of the Unidade de Forças Especiais, Armando Becker.
Around 2012, Neves has started a war with the Comando Sombra, and targeted their leader, Serrano. Despite the Crachá Preto being heavily outnumbered, the gang stood against the Comando Sombra, due to them having more advanced weapons and being more organized, Neves and his men were able to defeat the Comando Sombra.
Attack on the Brancos
Rego and Neves overseeing Payne and Passos fleeing from the stadium.
One day in 2012, acting under direction from Victor Branco, Neves orders his men to intercept the hand-off of ransom money for the release of Fabiana Branco between the Branco family's bodyguards, Max Payne and Raul Passos, and the kidnappers of Fabiana, the Comando Sombra. Neves' snipers kill a few CS members' and injure Max, leading to a large shootout between the three factions.
In the ensuing chaos, Neves' men eliminate all Comando Sombra and secure the ransom. Max and Raul fight their way back to their helicopter and escape, if only by the grace of Neves, who claims that they were only paid to bring the money, not to kill the bodyguards, stopping Rego from firing an rpg at them.
Neves and Rego authorize an attack on the Branco building, under the order of Victor as a deviation for Victor's plan to kill his brother Rodrigo Branco. Payne eliminates most of the gang members, but is unable to save Rodrigo, who is shot by an assassin inside his office. A bomb planted by the assassin destroys the building, leaving only a few Crachá Preto members and Max alive. Max manages to escape the building.
Favela warzone
- "He's blaming you for the death of his friend."
- ―Giovanna Taveres to Max Payne.
A day after the attack, Max arrives to the Nova Esperança favela, after a Crachá Preto member told him that Fabiana is held in the favela. Victor, in order to take down both the Comando Sombra and Max, sends the Unidade de Forças Especiais to destroy the favela gang, with the Crachá Preto as a backup.
Once there, after capturing many residents of the favela, the UFE second-in-command, Bachmeyer, gives them to Rego, to continue the factions' work in harvesting people's organs.
After getting a truck full of people from the favela, Rego goes to a place where Marcelo Branco, Victor's brother, and Giovanna Taveres, Fabiana's sister, are held. He orders one of his men to burn Marcelo alive. Max rushes and engages in a melee-fight with Rego, killing him. A few minutes later, Neves and one of his men arrive to the scene only to find Rego's corpse, leading Neves to immediately blame Max Payne for Rego's death. Neves then furiously leaves the place.
Downfall
- "Well done with your effort. The whole city is grateful, the great American savior of the poor."
- ―Neves to Max Payne.
On the rooftops of Neves' building, The Imperial Palace Hotel, where the Crachá Preto were overseeing the organ harvesting operation, Neves is finally encountered by Max, who broke into the building to find out what happened to all of the kidnapping victims with the intention of putting an end to it, which he did by neutralizing all Crachá Preto opposition, disposing of the surgeon responsible for carrying out organ extractions and placing C4 on the building's support columns.
Following a brief conversation, Max blows up the Hotel's support columns and the whole building starts to fall apart, whilst Neves' goons attack Max. Once Max kills them all, a tremor from the collapsing building causes Max to fall to the ground. Neves reappears and prepares to execute Max with his 608 Bull, taunting Max, but is suddenly shot in the head by an unknown person, soon revealed to be Raul Passos. Neves' building then collapses, taking Neves' body and all his goons down with it.
With both Neves' and Rego's deaths, the Crachá Preto was destroyed, thus fulfilling another piece of Victor's plan, who later reveals that he intended to take out the gang after his plan succeeded.
Personality and traits
Being a right-wing supporter, Neves thought that the only way to fight and win the crime is through drastic ways such as violence and force, leading to his despise of the rather 'peaceful' ways which the government used to fight the crime, which led to his retirement from the UFE, and the foundation of the Crachá Preto.
Neves believes that his way of helping people is better; having his men cut down poor residents of Sao Paulo to sell their organs to the more powerful and rich citizens. He claims that his business is legitimate, due to him having everything paid, and as well having records of the organs harvesting.
With all said above, Neves clearly dislikes poor people, believing that only powerful and decent people should stay in the city. He does not care to kill as many poor residents to get their organs for the rich and decent people, which also gave him a lot of money and power for his operation.
Neves seems to hold Americans in low regard, cynically calling Max Payne a typical American hero, as well a "great American savior of the poor." He also seems to be in a quite shock upon hearing that Rego was killed by an American.
Appearance
By 2012, Neves was a tall man with a short curly black hair, with some graying parts on the sides of his head, and has brown eyes. He has a thick black mustache. Neves wears an outfit simlar to other members of the Crachá Preto, though with different colors, to stand among his men; He has a sick-green armor vest on a black shirt with folded long sleeves. He has a pair of khaki-cloured pants, and wears black boots. He has a small pouch tied to his right leg.
Equipment
Neves' 608 Bull.
- Armor vest - the trademark piece of clothing of the Crachá Preto. A vest used to protect the torso from bullets and lethal injuries.
- 608 Bull - a powerful silver revolver. This is the main sidearm and weapon Neves is seen using. He prepared to execute Max with the 608, but never managed to complete the job.
- Auto 9mm - a fully automatic handgun. Neves carries an Auto 9mm when he and one of his men find the corpse of Milo Rego.
UFE files data
Details
- Surname: Neves
- Forename(s): Álvaro
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 43
Overview
- Leader of the Crachá Preto paramilitary group.
- Held the rank of Captain with São Paulo’s Special Forces Unit (UFE) from 2001 to 2005.
- Reportedly became disillusioned with the justice system’s failure to win the war on crime in São Paulo.
- Suspected involvement in a string of extrajudicial killings of gang members in 2004 and 2005.
- Accused of orchestrating the executions of two left-wing politicians in September 2004.
- Quit the police force in November 2005.
Behind the scenes
- Neves is the person who aims the 608 Bull at the end of the second official trailer of Max Payne 3. It is worthy to mention that during the trailer, he had a different voice actor.
Gallery
Appearances