Fall River mayor’s fate in balance
Council to vote Tuesday on ouster
The Fall River City Council last night pushed back a vote on ousting Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II until next week as pressure builds on him to step down following his recent arrest on federal fraud and tax cheat charges.
Correia called the case “politically motivated” and vowed to fight to keep his job.
“This began from day one as a political attack on someone who was challenging the norms in Fall River. Not arrogantly, not selfishly, but humbly, I will continue to every day show how hard working your mayor is, and I will not resign,” Correia, 26, announced yesterday morning as his supporters chanted “Fake news!” and “Keep going!”
In a special meeting of the Fall River City Council, councilors debated the motion to remove Correia after hearing citizen input.
“If the mayor truly loves Fall River, he should step down,” said council president Cliff Ponte.
That pivotal vote is now set for Tuesday.
Correia called a press conference yesterday to tell constituents he was setting aside a five-page speech he prepared in advance in order to speak from his heart.
“We changed the city for the better, and no one — no one — can take away those political accomplishments. I’m proud to be the mayor of Fall River,” said Correia, who was released on $10,000 bond after pleading not guilty to charges of wire fraud and filing false tax returns at his arraignment Thursday in U.S. District Court in South Boston.
“A lot of politicians would run and hide, and they wouldn’t want to respond to allegations,” said Correia, accompanied to yesterday’s event by his family and attorneys.
The mayor’s refusal to step down was followed by a 4 p.m. rally at which about three dozen people called on him to resign.
Correia was arrested early Thursday morning in Bridgewater on charges stemming from a company he founded called SnoOwl. Over the course of four years, beginning in 2013, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said Correia persuaded seven people to invest $363,690 in the company.
“Correia, however, diverted more than $230,000 of that money — about 64 percent — to fund his political career and extravagant lifestyle, and the needs of his other business ventures,” Lelling said last week.
Correia is accused of spending the money on his mayoral campaign, travel, adult entertainment, designer clothes, jewelry, credit card and student loan payments, casinos and a 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 allwheel-drive sport sedan.