For Jasiel Correia II, 2022 meant reporting to federal prison and appeal denial

FALL RIVER — Jasiel Correia II avoided reporting to federal prison a half dozen times, but the former Fall River mayor's day of reckoning came on April 22, when he reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, New Hampshire, to serve a six-year sentence for corruption and fraud.

Later in the year, Correia's hope of having his conviction overturned, or at least be granted a new trial, were dashed when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston resoundingly rejected his appeal in an 82-page opinion released Nov. 28.

Save for a highly unlikely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Correia will remain in federal prison until 2027.

Appeal deliberation took three months

On Sept. 8, Correia’s appellate attorney, Daniel Marx, pitched his legal arguments on why the former mayor should have his conviction overturned or be granted a new trial.

Oral arguments by Marx and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Quinlivan were heard before federal appellate judges Sandra L. Lynch, Bruce Selya and Jeffrey R. Howard in the 34-minute call-in, audio-only hearing.

The brief hearing was live-streamed on the court's YouTube channel, and the judges each took turns questioning the attorneys.

Marx’s arguments centered on whether or not prosecutors had prejudiced the jury when they presented a videotape during closing statements of a debate between then-candidate Correia and incumbent mayor Sam Sutter regarding SnoOwl back in 2015.

Marx also accused the federal jury of not being “discerning” during their deliberations, a point rejected by Quinlivan, noting they deliberated for four days.

But the appellate judges were not swayed, and in an often colorfully written ruling, they rejected the multitude of Correia's arguments.

One notable quote in the ruling, authored by Selya, called one of Correia's claims "All foam and no beer."

Correia turned 31 in prison

Correia, who turned 31 in early December, has been a resident in the Berlin medium and minimum-security prison for the past eight months for defrauding investors in his now nonexistent app company, SnoOwl, and for extorting several hundred thousand dollars from marijuana companies seeking the necessary letters of non-opposition from the then-mayor.

Appeal pitchCorreia's lawyers tell appeals court his jury wasn't 'discerning.' Prosecutors disagree.

Correia was convicted by a federal jury on May 14, 2021, after a four-week trial in Boston on nine counts of wire fraud, four counts of filing false tax returns, four counts of extortion conspiracy and four counts of extortion.

However, federal Judge Douglas Woodlock dismissed six counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns during the sentencing phase of Correia’s trial.

The city's youngest elected mayor at 23, Correia had a meteoric rise in city politics only to crash and burn after two tumultuous terms in office. It was a scene that captured national attention and even resulted in a documentary halfway through his legal woes.

Delay:For a seventh time, convicted ex-mayor Jasiel Correia asks to delay prison sentence

Changes while he was away

Correia was originally scheduled to report to prison in December 2021, but in the first of what would become a handful of delays, Woodlock allowed him to stay home for the holidays that month to help his in-laws during Christmas and New Year’s at their restaurant complex, Douro Steakhouse and Towne House Restaurant on Purchase Street.

The previous August, Correia married his fiancée and then-restaurant owner Jenny Fernandes, a month before he was sentenced.

Sentence beginsJasiel Correia is behind bars in federal prison. Here's what's next for the former mayor

His wife is no longer an owner of the high-end restaurant, café and cigar bar, which is now listed for sale with an asking price of $2.9 million.

In August, the couple became parents with the birth of a son, Jasiel Correia III.

According to the Bureau of Prisons website, Correia is due for release April 11, 2027. It will be followed by three years of supervised probation.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Jasiel Correia entered prison in 2022, but there is still a pending appeal.