No Prison Time for Fall River Ex-Mayor's Chief of Staff

FALL RIVER — Genoveva Andrade, former Chief of Staff to former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia, won't be spending any time in prison for lying to federal authorities about a salary kickback arrangement she had with her ex-boss.

After pleading guilty to making a false statement, the 50-year-old Somerset resident was sentenced on Monday to time served and one year of supervised release by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock.

She will also have to pay a $50,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

While working for Correia, who himself was convicted on corruption and fraud charges and sentenced to six years in prison, Andrade began kicking back half her salary to him in order to keep her position.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the kickbacks took place every pay period from November 2017 through July 2018.

Andrade also kicked back almost all of a $10,000 city-funded “snow stipend” that Correia approved for her, the office stated.

She then lied to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents about the kickback scheme in December 2018.

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“Ms. Andrade had many choices — rather than serve the people of Fall River with the integrity she swore to provide, she chose to support the corrupt leadership of Jasiel Correia by lying to federal authorities in an effort to protect him," said U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. "My office will continue to hold government officials who abuse their positions of trust accountable.”

“Instead of doing right by the citizens of Fall River, Genoveva Andrade repeatedly lied to us about Mayor Jasiel Correia’s criminal conduct in an effort to obstruct our investigation and protect components of City Hall under their leadership,” said Joseph Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division.

“Today’s sentence brings this sordid chapter in Fall River history to a close, while also making it crystal clear that anyone who lies to the FBI during the course of a public corruption investigation will not get away with it.”

“Today’s events are the result of Ms. Andrade placing her loyalty to Jasiel Correia above her duty to the people of Fall River,” said Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn Cunha.

“My office and our federal partners are committed to ensuring that public officials in Massachusetts who choose a similar path will face consequences for their criminal acts.”

Correia was convicted last May on multiple counts of wire fraud, extortion, and filing false tax returns.

In September, he was sentenced to six years in prison, but has yet turn himself in, after the court pushed back the date for the sixth time on March 3.

He is now set to begin his prison sentence on April 5.

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