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Wunderkind Ex-Mayor Jasiel Correia Guilty in Corruption Case

Prosecutors told jurors that the political wunderkind stole and extorted so he could buy Rolexes, sex toys, and fancy cologne.

Jasiel Correia, who became mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, at the age of 24, has been convicted of 21 federal charges linked to a wide-ranging corruption scandal. Correia was found guilty of demanding bribes from would-be marijuana moguls who wanted to open dispensaries in the city—although he was acquitted of charges he tried to shake down his own chief of staff. The jury also convicted him of fleecing investors in a smartphone app he helped create while a college student. The Boston Globe reports that prosecutors told jurors that the political wunderkind stole and extorted so he could buy Rolexes, sex toys, and fancy cologne. Correia said he planned to appeal and claimed that he had rejected a plea deal “because I’m not guilty.” Federal prosecutors said they had never dangled a deal in front of Correia, who will be sentenced in September.