Former Mass. Mayor Extorted from Marijuana Businesses


By Adam Andrzejewski for RealClearPolicy

The former mayor of a Massachusetts town was recently sentenced to six years in prison for committing more than a dozen counts of wire fraud, extortion, and extortion conspiracy while in office.

Ex-Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana businesses that wanted to operate there, The Associated Press reported.

Correia was elected in 2016 at age 23 and was held up as a Democratic star but was convicted in May of funding a lavish lifestyle with money he stole from investors of his app “SnoOwl” designed to help businesses connect with consumers.

Correia allegedly spent almost two-thirds of the approximately $400,000 he got from investors on hotels, a Mercedes, and to pay down his student loans.

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On top of that, after taking office, Correia took bribes from marijuana vendors in exchange for city approval to get a license, prosecutors said, the AP reported.

Voters kicked Correia out of office in November 2019, but not before he survived what AP called a “bizarre election in March 2019 during which he was recalled by voters and reelected the same night.”

The federal prosecutor who asked for an 11-year sentence for Correia noted that greed and hubris is the only way to explain the former mayor’s actions since he has a supportive family and was making a good salary as mayor.

No doubt the wire fraud, extortion, and extortion conspiracy he committed while in office wasted taxpayer money while he got rich.

The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.

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