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U.S. NEWS Saturday 7 September 2019
Mayor charged with taking

bribes to help pot businesses

By PHILIP MARCELO Grisham novel” and sug- ernment issues the letters,
Associated Press gested the arrest was politi- which state they’ve verified
BOSTON (AP) — A young cally motivated. the business is in a permis-
Massachusetts mayor’s tor- “This is a case where there’s sible zoning district.
tuous tenure took another no corroboration, no physi- Correia has issued at least
strange turn Friday when cal evidence, no legiti- 14 of the letters, includ-
he was arrested on charg- mate witness,” Reddington ing two for his current girl-
es that he conspired to ex- said. “The timing of this in- friend’s brother, authorities
tort hundreds of thousands dictment is also troubling.” said. Lelling’s office de-
of dollars from companies Correia is running in the clined to say whether it’s
seeking to operate mari- city’s preliminary election alleging illegal activity in
juana businesses. on Sept. 17. Once a rising issuing of the letters to the
Fall River Mayor Jasiel Cor- political star , the Demo- brother. In this Sept. 30, 2016, file photo, a marijuana bud is seen before
reia, who became the old crat has already survived State Inspector Gener- harvesting at a rural area near Corvallis, Ore.
mill city’s youngest mayor a bizarre March election in al Glenn Cunha said he Associated Press
when he was elected in which he was recalled by hopes Correia’s indictment Federal judge: Oregon pot
2015 at age 23, brazenly
accepted cash bribes in racketeering lawsuit can
exchange for issuing official
letters needed to obtain a proceed
license to set up a pot busi-
ness, authorities alleged.
At least four business own- By GILLIAN FLACCUS
ers paid a total of $600,000 Associated Press
in bribes to the mayor, and PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a rack-
he used the money to sup- eteering lawsuit brought by a vineyard against a neigh-
port a lavish lifestyle and boring marijuana operation can go forward despite at-
cover mounting legal bills, tempts to have it dismissed — a ruling that could increase
they said. the odds for vineyards and other agricultural businesses
“Without hesitation, Mayor that have fought the presence of cannabis farms in their
Correia was extorting mari- backyards with limited success.
juana vendor after mari- U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown found in the Aug.
juana vendor,” U.S. Attor- 27 ruling that there was enough evidence the plaintiff,
ney Andrew Lelling said at Momtazi Vineyard, had suffered a financial loss from the
a news conference. “It’s Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia speaks beside his attorney Kevin neighboring marijuana operation to take the case to trial.
striking the lengths he went Reddington outside the federal courthouse, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, At least two previous racketeering lawsuits filed in Ore-
to get the money, and the in Boston, after his appearance on bribery, extortion and fraud gon over the smell from marijuana farms have been dis-
seeming indifference with charges. Correia pleaded not guilty. missed, making this ruling notable, said Jesse Mondry, an
how overt his activities Associated Press attorney at the law firm Harris Bricken, which specializes in
were.” cannabis-related legal matters. Mondry is not involved in
In one instance, Lelling voters and then promptly leads marijuana regulators the case.
said, Correia walked into a reelected the same night. to consider additional safe- “It changes the playing field in that the court has shown a
vendor’s office and simply Correia was arrested in guards. pathway to bring racketeering claims against marijuana
asked for $250,000 to issue October on charges he Friday’s indictment also farms,” he said. “I don’t know that this is going to open
one of the letters. Another defrauded investors in a details other accusations the floodgates. At least they know now what they need
time, Correia was paid smartphone app he was against Correia. to do so survive a motion to dismiss.”
$75,000 in cash while sitting developing. Authorities say the now-27- The case highlights the tension between vintners and
in the backseat of a car. Prosecutors say he used year-old mayor received marijuana businesses over land, water, odor and aesthet-
He promptly handed over much of the $360,000 to cash and a Rolex watch ics in the fertile areas of Oregon and California where
a signed letter, Lelling said. pay for jewelry, designer from a property owner both wine grapes and state-legal cannabis flourish. The
Correia pleaded not guilty clothing, a Mercedes and seeking city approvals. current case involves a vineyard in the heart of a federal-
Friday to the charges, to further his political ca- They also say he had his ly designated viticulture area in Oregon’s Yamhill County,
which include bribery, ex- reer. chief of staff, who also fac- where wine tourism is booming.
tortion, wire fraud and filing Correia has pleaded not es federal charges, give It also fits into a pattern of federal racketeering lawsuits
false tax returns. A judge or- guilty to those 13 counts. him half of her $78,780 sal- targeting marijuana businesses.
dered him to post $25,000 His trial is currently slated to ary in return for allowing her One of the first was in Colorado, which legalized marijua-
of a $250,000 bond, and start Feb. 24. to keep her city job. na in 2012. By 2016, cannabis companies in Oregon were
his travel was restricted to The latest investigation Genoveva Andrade, a getting sued, said Matt Goldberg, one of the attorneys
Massachusetts and Rhode highlights the potential for 48-year-old Somerset resi- representing the defendants.q
Island. abuse in Massachusetts’ dent, made her initial ap-
“I’m not guilty of these nascent retail marijuana pearance Friday and
charges. I’ve done nothing industry, which launched wasn’t required to enter a
but good for the great city in earnest last November plea on extortion, theft and
of Fall River,” Correia said with the opening of the first bribery charges.
outside the courthouse. retail storefronts, authorities Her lawyer declined to Weekly special on Cars $169.00
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His lawyer, Kevin Redding- ter is required to become juana extortion scheme
ton, said the indictment a licensed marijuana shop. and will appear in court
“reads like a bad John The head of the local gov- later.q