By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Fall River’s embattled mayor has survived an effort by the city council to strip him of his duties while he fights federal wire and tax fraud charges.

Councilors Tuesday night postponed a measure to temporarily remove Mayor Jasiel Correia II from office, or to express “no confidence” in Correia, who hours earlier, mounted an unusual public defense against allegations that he defrauded investors in a smart phone app, diverting more than $231,000 toward personal and campaign use.

For nearly an hour, councilors heard from more than a dozen people, some supported Correia, but most said he should step down from the mayor’s office. Dawn Saurette said she has initiated the process to conduct a recall election to remove Correia from office.

“Because as long as this mayor is sitting, while he’s fighting for his freedom, I don’t believe that he can fight for us, and no one is going to take him seriously,” Saurette said.

Then, most councilors most said they favored removing Correia from his duties, Councilman Steven Camara raised questions about the cost of a threatened legal fight. He raised a parliamentary objection that immediately halted any action until the next meeting of the council, on Tuesday.