FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - The embattled mayor of Fall River showed up for work Monday despite being ousted by the city council last week.
Jasiel Correia ignored the council’s request that he turn over the keys to his office at 5 p.m. Friday following their 8-to-1 vote Tuesday night in favor of City Council President Cliff Ponte temporarily replacing 27-year-old Correia as acting mayor amid allegations that Correia extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana companies.
“I certainly know who the mayor is and I think the people and department heads in the city know who the mayor is and that’s me,” Correia told reporters Friday, showing no signs of stepping down.
Correia argued that the vote to remove him from office is politically motivated as he runs for the re-election of mayor.
“I’m gonna win,” Correia told 7News as he walked into city hall Monday. “I’m going to be in the final two, that’s for sure. It’s just the primary.”
His attorney, Kevin Reddington, said that the city council’s vote to temporarily strip Correia’s position as mayor is not legal.
“The so-called order of the city council is of no legal merit whatsoever,” he said. “It totally perverts the intent of that section of the city charter, dealing with incapacitation. Jasiel is far from incapacitated and he is going nowhere.”
Ponte argued that the federal charges against Correia warranted the vote.
“The council felt that these most recent indictments, which include alarming allegations of bribery, corruption and abuses of power, requires that the mayor be temporarily relieved of his duties,” he said. “I will and intend to perform the duties of acting mayor.”
Ponte also responded to Correia’s act of defiance in a letter, writing in part, “Since you refused to comply with the council’s emergency vote, you have now forced the council to take appropriate action, up to and including seeking enforcement of the order in court.”
Correia has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including bribery, extortion and wire fraud.
He was also indicted for fraud and tax evasion last year.
He maintains his innocence, saying, “I have done absolutely nothing wrong.”
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