For someone looking to extort marijuana vendors vying for prime business opportunities, becoming a mayor in Massachusetts could be the thing to do.
Absolute power over the local marijuana market, prosecutors now allege, presented itself as a possible cash cow to Jasiel Correia II, who was the youngest person to win the mayorship in the city of Fall River's history.
Correia is charged with 24 federal crimes that include alleged extortion of more than $600,000 from marijuana vendors seeking to set up shop in Fall River between 2016 and 2018 — a pay-to-play scheme.
Correia alone possessed the power to issue non-opposition letters and sign host community agreements based upon locally established processes for granting approval to marijuana companies, as state law allows. Non-opposition letters pave the way for a marijuana business to locate in a particular town or city, while host community agreements are required between the business and municipality prior to state licensing.