A Connecticut judge has rejected Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez’s request to drop corruption charges against him.
But Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia DiCocco Dewey agreed Friday to delay the case until at least February because of pretrial publicity.
Perez was arrested in January on charges he accepted a bribe from a city contractor. He was also charged on Wednesday with trying to extort money from a developer. He denies all the allegations.
Perez’s lawyer, Hubert Santos, argued that by releasing the warrants for Wednesday’s arrest, prosecutors violated a state Supreme Court order that sealed the details of the grand jury investigation.
Santos said Perez can’t get a fair trial on the charges filed in January. Jury selection in that case was scheduled to start next week. (AP)
