Hartford mayor pleads not guilty to bribery HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Mayor Eddie Perez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to bribery and other charges and asked a judge for an immediate trial to clear his name.
Perez, 51, is accused of hiring a city contractor, Carlos Costa, to do $40,000 worth of renovations to his home and then paying only half the amount — and only after he was confronted by state investigators in 2007.
The three-term Democrat has been free on a promise to appear in court since his arrest last week on charges of receiving a bribe, fabricating physical evidence and conspiracy to fabricate evidence. Defense attorney Hubert Santos told Superior Court Judge Julia Dewey that Perez is "prepared to go to trial today."
Dewey instead asked Perez to report back to court March 3 for a hearing.
Perez has said it was a mistake to hire city contractor Carlos Costa, but he insists he did nothing illegal and has no plans to step down as mayor. He declined to comment after the hearing.
Costa told investigators he believed he would be shut out of lucrative city contracts had he not done the work for free.
Also pleading not guilty Tuesday was city hall employee Edward Lazu, who was charged with receiving a bribe, fabricating evidence and forgery. Prosecutors say Costa did free driveway and sidewalk work for Lazu, who certifies contractors for city work.
Lazu's attorney, Richard Brown, said his client would be exonerated because "there is insufficient evidence."
-Via Associated Press
What makes it worse is that he used to be a gang leader back-in-the day but he supposedly changed his life around by getting involved in civil activism. Can't say I'm really that surprised tho.
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