A young Massachusetts mayor's tortuous tenure took another strange turn Friday when he was arrested on charges that he conspired to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies seeking to operate marijuana businesses.
Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia, who became the old mill city's youngest mayor when he was elected in 2015 at age 23, brazenly accepted cash bribes in exchange for issuing official letters needed to obtain a license to set up a pot business, authorities alleged.
"Without hesitation, Mayor Correia was extorting marijuana vendor after marijuana vendor," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said at a news conference.