Convicted ex-mayor’s corruption prison term reporting date delayed, again

A federal judge on Monday pushed back the prison reporting date of a former Massachusetts mayor convicted of corruption charges for a seventh time, but denied a request to allow him to remain free pending his appeal.

Former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II was supposed to report to a federal medium security prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, to start serving a six-year sentence on Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock said in a filing Monday that postponing the reporting date until April 22 would give Correia’s attorneys “a reasonable period” of time to go to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to appeal Woodlock’s decision not to stay the reporting date indefinitely.

Correia’s attorneys say he should be allowed to stay out of prison pending his appeal, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

An email seeking comment was left with Correia’s attorneys.

Prosecutors have repeatedly asked the judge to deny Correia’s requests to delay his reporting date, saying the former mayor should be “held accountable for his egregious abuse of his position of trust.”

Correia was convicted last year of 21 counts for defrauding investors in a smartphone app he was developing and for extorting money from marijuana companies seeking to do business in Fall River. But a judge ultimately dismissed 10 fraud and tax evasion charges, leaving 11 convictions to stand.

Correia, first elected at age 23, was seen as a rising political star until his arrest. He has maintained his innocence.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/OwjeYQZ