Beleaguered Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia Ousted

FALL RIVER, MA — The Fall River City Council voted to temporarily relieve Mayor Jasiel Correia of his duties in the wake of another wave of federal charges. The City Council voted, 8-1, to oust Correia Tuesday night. They also said he should be out of his office by the end of Friday.

City Council President Cliff Ponte would become acting mayor if/until the charges are withdrawn. Correia was arrested last Friday on accusations he extorted marijuana vendors to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as other charges. He was also arrested last year on charges of defrauding investors.

Correia has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Correia, 27, may not go down without a fight. The council's vote may not be legally binding, city counsel said. Correia's potential position in challenging the order led to the dissenting vote.

This is not the first time the city has tried to oust Correia, who at 23 was the youngest mayor elected in the city's history. In March, the residents of Fall River opted to remove Correia in a recall election — but the following question was who should replace Correia, who found his way onto that same ballot along with four other candidates. Correia, despite essentially being recalled immediately before, won that election as the other candidates split vote.