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Judge Denies Perez Request For Delay

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

November 02, 2009

A state court judge has denied a request by attorneys for Mayor Eddie A. Perez seeking to delay a Wednesday hearing.

Perez is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court Wednesday to discuss whether to combine two pending cases into one. Prosecutors have asked the judge to combine the cases; Perez's attorneys have not yet offered an opinion.

Perez, the focus of an 18-month state investigation into allegations of corruption at city hall, was arrested twice this year, in January on bribery-related charges and in September on charges relating to attempted extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

When Perez was first arrested in January, his attorney, Hubert Santos, called for a quick trial. Now Santos says the mayor's second arrest has complicated matters.

In an Oct. 23 motion, Santos asked Judge Julia Dewey for a continuance of Wednesday's hearing. It was his second request for a delay.

"The defendant should have more time to prepare on the charges filed in September because the new charges are more complex, involve more witnesses and present complicated questions of law," Santos wrote.

Dewey denied Santos' motion on Oct. 27.

Click on the link in "Related Links" to see a PDF document of the motion and the judge's order