Jasiel Correia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jasiel Correia
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| 44th Mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts | |
| In office January 4, 2016 – January 6, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Sam Sutter |
| Succeeded by | Paul Coogan |
| Member of the Fall River City Council | |
| In office January 6, 2014 – January 4, 2016 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | December 11, 1991 Fall River, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Providence College |
| Legal Issues | |
| Conviction(s) |
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| Penalty |
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| Status | In prison |
| Location | Federal Correctional Institution, Ashland as of January 2024 |
Jasiel F. Correia II (born December 11, 1991) is an American politician. He served as the mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, from 2016 to 2020. While he was mayor, he faced serious legal troubles.
Correia lost the mayoral election in November 2019. His time as mayor ended on January 6, 2020. In May 2021, a court found him guilty of several federal charges. He was sentenced to six years in federal prison. He began serving his sentence on April 22, 2022.
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Political Career
Jasiel Correia's political journey began in 2013. He ran for a spot on the Fall River City Council. The City Council is a group of people elected to help run the city. In that election, the top nine finishers won seats. Correia came in 10th place.
However, a spot on the council opened up before the term started. Because he was the next-highest finisher, Correia got to fill the empty seat. He joined the City Council on January 6, 2014.
Becoming Mayor of Fall River
In November 2015, Correia ran for mayor of Fall River. He won against the current mayor, Sam Sutter, with nearly 52% of the vote. At age 23, he became the youngest mayor in the city's history. He started his job in January 2016.
Two years later, in November 2017, he was re-elected for a second term. He won with 61% of the vote.
Legal Problems and Recall Election
In October 2018, Correia was arrested. He was accused of misusing money from his company, SnoOwl, and of not reporting his income correctly on his taxes. He said he was not guilty and would not step down as mayor.
What is a Recall Election?
Because of the charges, the Fall River City Council asked Correia to resign. When he refused, the council decided to hold a special election called a recall election. This is a process where voters can decide to remove an elected official from office before their term is over.
The recall election was set for March 12, 2019. The ballot had two questions for voters:
- Should Mayor Correia be removed from office?
- Who should be the new mayor?
A strange rule in Fall River's city laws allowed Correia to run in his own recall election. This meant he could be a candidate to replace himself if he was recalled.
The Results of the Recall
On election day, 61% of voters chose to recall Correia. This meant he was removed from his job as mayor.
However, when voters chose who should be the new mayor, Correia received the most votes out of five candidates. He got 35% of the vote. So, on the same day he was recalled, he was also re-elected. This allowed him to finish his original term, which ended in January 2020.
More Legal Troubles
On September 6, 2019, Correia was arrested again. This time, he was accused of taking money and gifts from business owners. The City Council again tried to remove him from office, but a judge ruled that only the voters could do that through another recall.
The 2019 Mayoral Election
Despite his legal problems, Correia ran for re-election in the fall of 2019. In the first round of voting, called a preliminary election, he came in second. This earned him a spot in the final election in November.
Later, Correia announced he was taking a "temporary absence" as mayor and stopping his campaign. However, his name was still on the ballot. In the final election on November 5, Paul Coogan won. Correia came in third place.
| Candidates | Preliminary Election | General Election | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Paul Coogan | 8,273 | 62.30 | 10,653 | 79.43 |
| Jasiel Correia | 2,777 | 20.91 | 1,002 | 7.47 |
| Erica Scott-Pacheco | 2,171 | 16.35 | ||
| write-ins | 59 | 0.44 | 1,756 | 13.09 |
| blanks | 30 | n/a | 635 | n/a |
Federal Trial and Prison
Correia's trial on 24 federal charges began in April 2021. On May 14, 2021, a jury found him guilty on 21 of those charges. The charges included taking bribes from business owners and misusing money from investors in his company.
On September 21, 2021, a judge sentenced Correia to six years in federal prison. The judge said Correia showed "an absolute lack of remorse" and that "City Hall was for sale."
Correia began his prison sentence in April 2022. As of January 2024, he was at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky.
Personal Life
Correia was born in Fall River. His parents moved to the United States from other countries when they were children. His father is from Cape Verde, and his mother is from the Azores, a group of islands belonging to Portugal.
He is not related to Robert Correia, who was also a mayor of Fall River. In 2020, a short documentary series called Run This City was made about Jasiel Correia's time as mayor.
