The Tripod

Attorneys for Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez were denied in their request to delay a hearing scheduled for this Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Hartford Superior Court. The hearing is being held to discuss whether to combine Perez's two pending cases into one. Prosecutors support the idea, while Perez and his attorneys have not offered their thoughts.

Perez's attorney, Hubert Santos, originally hoped for a quick trial, according to The Hartford Courant; however, once Perez was arrested for a second time, Santos felt that the situation had become more complicated. Santos sent a motion to Superior Court Judge Julia Dewey on Friday, Oct. 23, asking for a continuance of the hearing; this was the second motion that had been filed and was denied on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The arrests of Perez leading up to these trials were the results of an investigatory grand jury two years ago, according to the arrest warrant affidavits.

As previously reported by the Tripod, Perez originally was arrested on Jan. 27, of this year, and charged with bribery, fabricating evidence, and conspiracy to fabricate evidence. Beginning in 2005, Perez had work done on his home by personal contractor Carlos Costa. This work extended into 2006.

Perez did not pay Costa until a year later in July 2007, after federal investigators began questioning the missing payment. Even then, Perez only gave Costa $20,217 for an amount of work that was valued at over $40,000. Costa was arrested as well, and prosecutors against Perez claimed that the contractor took the job out of fear of being "black balled" from doing city work.

In September, Perez was again arrested alongside former state representative Abraham Giles in a no-bid parking lot deal. Both were charged with one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Extortion and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Extortion, after attempting to demand money from an individual who wished to develop properties on land that Giles had been leasing from the city of Hartford.

Giles paid $500 per month to use the land as a parking lot, and demanded $250,000 from the developer to allow his project to go forward; this number was later lowered to $100,000. According to the arrest warrants, Perez required that Giles be satisfied before allowing the developing project to continue.

Perez has pleaded not guilty to all charges in both arrests.

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