Corruption Trial of Eddie Perez Begins

Eddie Perez's corruption trial begins this morning. The mayor of Hartford has been charged with bribery and attempted extortion. WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil reports

He was arrested twice in 2009. First, for allegedly accepting a bribe from a city contractor who did renovations in the Mayor's home in 2005. Prosecutors say Perez never paid for the work until investigators questioned him. He was again arrested in September, this time authorities allege he and a former state lawmaker tried to extort a quarter of a million dollars from a developer who wanted to buy city owned property.

Perez denies any wrongdoing. Last fall, after his second arrest, Perez had this to say:   

"Let me be clear. I will not resign. I will continue to serve the people of Hartford, because they elected me to do a job, and that job is not finished.  The only thing I ask the citizens of Hartford is to let me have my day in court."

It's unclear how closely city residents are following Perez's troubles. On Park Street in Hartford, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, Pedro Escobar told WNPR no matter the outcome of the trial, this attention has hurt the city's first Puerto Rican mayor.

"He's losing a lot of confidence, a lot of trust in people. He really is. Because I didn't expect this from him, so, let the law decide."

The trial is expected to last until the end of June, up to 22 witnesses could be called.

For WNPR, I'm Lucy Nalpathanchil.