Ex-aide of Fall River mayor reaches new plea deal in marijuana extortion case

The former chief of staff to a Massachusetts mayor convicted of federal corruption charges has reached another plea deal on related offenses that — if approved — would spare her prison time, according to court documents.

Under the deal filed Tuesday, Genoveva Andrade, the ex-chief of staff to former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II, would plead guilty to making false statements to investigators, and prosecutors would drop more serious charges of extortion conspiracy, aiding and abetting extortion, and bribery.

Prosecutors would recommend that Andrade be sentenced to a year of probation and a $10,000 fine.

Andrade previously reached a deal with prosecutors in June that also did not include time behind bars, but the judge rejected it, saying she deserved some prison time. Under terms of the new deal, the judge is not bound by the prosecution's recommendations and could hand down a stiffer sentence, including incarceration.

The charges against Andrade stem from her time spent as Correia’s chief of staff, from November 2017 to January 2019.

Prosecutors said she helped Correia extort money from marijuana companies that wanted to do business in the city.

Correia, first elected at 23, was convicted in May on 21 counts for defrauding investors in a smartphone app he was developing and for extorting money from marijuana companies. But a judge ultimately dismissed 10 charges, leaving 11 convictions to stand. He was sentenced in September to six years in prison. He has maintained his innocence and is appealing. He is scheduled to report to prison on March 4.