(MM)
WE CONTINUE WORKING
BREAKING NEWS--
THE MAYOR OF FALL
RIVER--
INDICTED ON FEDERAL
FRAUD CHARGES.
(HE)
MAYOR JASIEL CORREIA IS
EXPECTED TO ADDRESS
THE MEDIA OUTSIDE OF
HIS FALL RIVER OFFICE IN
JUST A LITTLE BIT--
FOLLOWING HIS
ARRAIGNMENT EARLIER
TODAY IN BOSTON.
(MM)
CORREIA PLEADED NOT
GUILTY TO SEVERAL
CHARGES--
INCLUDING MULTIPLE
COUNTS OF WIRE FRAUD--
AND FILING FALSE TAX
RETURNS.
AS WE FIRST TOLD YOU AT
NOON--
HE WAS ARRESTED THIS
MORNING--
FOLLOWING A MASSIVE
INVESTIGATION--
INTO HIS USE OF MONEY--
INVESTED IN HIS APP--
"SNOW OWL."
(HE)
WE HAVE TEAM
COVERAGE OF TODAY'S
BREAKING NEWS.
KIM KALUNIAN IS LIVE IN
FALL RIVER--
WITH WHAT RESIDENTS--
AND THE MAYOR
HIMSELF--
ARE SAYING TONIGHT.
(MM)
BUT FIRST--
LET'S GET RIGHT TO
EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER KAIT WALSH--
WHO IS LIVE OUTSIDE
FEDERAL COURT IN
BOSTON--
WHERE CORREIA WAS
ARRAIGNED TODAY.
KAIT?
WE'RE LIVE OUTSIDE
MOAKLEY FEDERAL
COURTHOUSE - WHERE
FALL RIVER MAYOR JASIEL
CORREIA WAS ARRAIGNED
THIS AFTERNOON.
NO CAMERAS ALLOWED
INSIDE - BUT I CAN TELL
YOU - HE CAME INTO THE
COURTROOM IN
SHACKLES AND
HANDCUFFS - LAUGHING
AND SMILING - HAIR
DISHEVELED -WEARING A
BLACK POLO SHIRT AND
BLACK PANTS.
MUCH DIFFERENT FROM
HOW HE LOOKED WHEN
HE SPOKE TO THE MEDIA
AFTER HIS ARRAIGNMENT.
A JOVIAL FALL RIVER MAYOR
JASIEL CORREIA -AFTER
EMERGING FROM MOAKLEY
FEDERAL COURTHOUSE.
"It's not my best Thursday. It's
raining."
EYEWITNESS NEWS WAS INSIDE
A BOSTON FEDERAL
COURTROOM - WHEN HE
PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO 9
COUNTS OF WIRE FRAUD - AND
4 COUNTS OF FILING FALSE TAX
RETURNS.
HOURS BEFORE - U.S.
ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING
SAID CORREIA WAS ARRESTED
IN BRIDGEWATER THURSDAY
MORNING - AFTER A LENGTHY
INVESTIGATION INTO CORREIA'S
USE OF SPENDING MONEY
INVESTORS INTENDED FOR HIS
APP KNOWN AS SNOOWL.
ACCORDING TO THE
INDICTMENT - 7 PEOPLE
INVESTED 363,690 DOLLARS IN
SNOOWL - AND CORREIA IS
ACCUSED OF SPENDING 64
PERCENT OF THAT - MORE
THAN 231-THOUSAND FOR
POLITICAL AND PERSONAL
EXPENSES.
"This was not about poor
accounting
or honest mistakes. According to
the
indictment Correia used investor
money to fund personal travel
and
entertainment, spending
thousands
of dollars on airfare, luxury
hotels,
restaurants, casinos, dating
services
and adult entertainment."
"We also believe Mr. Correia
omitted this illegally derived
income
from his 2013 and 2014 federal
income tax. Furthermore, once he
was elected mayor, Correia
continued to deceive his
investors."
CORREIA - SAYING THE
OPPOSITE.
"There's not a single thing that
the
U.S. Attorney's Office said in
that 19
page indictment that I did wrong
as
the mayor of the city of fall
river."
CORREIA WAS RELEASED ON
PERSONAL RECOGNIZANCE -
WITH CONDITIONS TO REMAIN
EMPLOYED - WHICH IN THIS
CASE MEANS AS MAYOR - NO
CORREIA WAS RELEASED ON
PERSONAL RECOGNIZANCE -
WITH CONDITIONS TO REMAIN
EMPLOYED - WHICH IN THIS
CASE MEANS AS MAYOR - NO
CONTACT WITH THOSE
INVOLVED IN SNOOWL - AND TO
SURRENDER HIS PASSPORT AT
THE PROBATION OFFICE IN
TAUNTON ON FRIDAY.
CORREIA IS DUE BACK IN
COURT ON DECEMBER
6TH.
NEW AT 6 - THE SENTENCE
THESE CHARGES COME
WITH - IF CORREIA IS
FOUND GUILTY.
LIVE IN BOSTON - I'M KAIT
WALSH, EYEWITNESS
NEWS.
(HE)
TODAY'S NEWS ---
LEAVING MANY
WONDERING: HOW WILL
THIS IMPACT CORREIA'S
JOB AS MAYOR?
TODAY HE SAID HE WILL
NOT STEP DOWN.
(MM)
EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER KIM KALUNIAN
HAS BEEN IN FALL RIVER
ALL DAY GETTING
REACTION FROM
RESIDENTS ------AND
AWAITING A NEWS
CONFERENCE WITH THE
MAYOR HIMSELF.
SHE JOINS US LIVE NOW
FROM GOVERNMENT
CENTER IN FALL RIVER
WITH THE SOUTHEASTERN
MASSACHUSETTS MOBILE
NEWSROOM.
KIM?
WE'RE TOLD THE MAYOR
WILL BE ADDRESSING THE
MEDIA JUST OUTSIDE HIS
OFFICE HERE ON THE 6TH
FLOOR OF GOVERNMENT
CENTER...CORREIA
MAKING HIS WAY BACK
FROM AN APPEARANCE IN
BOSTON FEDERAL COURT
-- ANSWERING TO A
STRING OF CHARGES THAT
HAVE LEFT RESIDENTS OF
THE CITY BUZZING.
WHAT?! UNBELIEVABLE.
UNBELIEVABLE.
FOR SOME, IT WAS PURE
SHOCK --
I NEVER EXPECTED THIS.
KIM
DISAPPOINTED?
VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE
MAYOR.
FOR OTHERS --
KIM
SO THIS DEVELOPMENT DOES
NOT SURPRISE YOU?
NO I HAVE HEARD THIS FOR A
YEAR NOW.
RUMORS OF AN FBI
INVESTIGATION INTO CORREIA'S
BUSINESS DEALINGS HAD BEEN
SWIRLING THROUGHOUT FALL
RIVER FOR SOME TIME --
IT WAS LIKE, HMM I DON'T THINK
THAT HE'D DO THAT. I REALLY
GAVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE
DOUBT. HONESTLY, JUST GAVE
HIM TOTAL BENEFIT OF THE
DOUBT, AND I'M JUST BLOWN
AWAY BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF
HIS BIGGEST FANS
ON THURSDAY THE 26 YEAR
OLD MAYOR DENIED
ALLEGATIONS OF WIRE FRAUD
AND FILING FALSE TAX
RETURNS...
TALKING TO REPORTERS
OUTSIDE FEDERAL COURT IN
BOSTON THURSDAY, HE SAID
HE WILL NOT RESIGN:
I LOVE THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO MY
OFFICE TONIGHT AND GET BACK
TO WORK SERVING THE
PEOPLE OF FALL RIVER.
CORREIA BECAME THE CITY'S
YOUNGEST MAYOR IN 2015 AT
AGE 23 -- BEATING OUT
FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY
SAM SUTTER. SUTTER HELD
THE JOB FOR A SHORT TIME
FOLLOWING A SPECIAL
ELECTION WHERE MAYOR WILL
FLANAGAN WAS REMOVED BY
VOTERS IN PART BECAUSE OF
AN INCIDENT WHERE HE
ALLEGEDLY FLASHED A GUN AT
CORREIA...
KIM
WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS SAYS
ABOUT FALL RIVER. YOU HAD
FLANAGAN, NOW THIS?
WELL I KIND OF HOPE WE GET A
MAYOR, WHETHER IT BE A
FEMALE OR A MALE, THAT THEY
TAKE FALL RIVER AT THEIR BEST
INTEREST. WE'VE LACKED THAT
FOR SO LONG.
NEW AT 6: TARGET 12
INVESTIGATOR TIM WHITE
FINDS THE TIMELINE FROM
FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS
RAISES SERIOUS
QUESTIONS ABOUT
SOMETHING MAYOR
CORREIA SAID DURING A
DEBATE. IN OUR
STUDIOS. HE'LL HAVE THAT
COMING UP. KIM KALUNIAN
EYEWITNESS NEWS.