Free Republic

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Mayor Eddie Perez said Tuesday that he will submit his resignation Friday, a week after he was convicted on five corruption charges, and would stay in office long enough to ensure an easy transition. Perez, a former gang leader who became Hartford's first Latino mayor, said last week he would step down after being convicted of extortion, accepting a bribe and other counts....

The mayor of Hartford, Conn., says a judge has signed a warrant for his arrest in connection with corruption charges surrounding a key supporter. Neither Democratic Mayor Eddie Perez nor his attorney has detailed the charges, which are expected to involve a no-bid contract to former Democratic state Rep. Abraham Giles. State investigators have been looking into a parking lot deal between the city and Giles since 2007. The deal included a $100,000 lease termination fee for Giles to vacate a city lot.

Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez, a Democrat Party member in his third term, has been arrested for bribery, falsifying evidence and conspiring to falsify evidence charges stemming from allegedly underpaying a local contractor for home renovations. The contractor, Carlos Costa, was not paid for nearly two years by Mayor Perez and thought he “would be blackballed as a contractor in the city” if he did not do the renovations free, prosecutors said. When confronted by investigators for not paying Costa, Democrat Mayor Perez said he was distracted by his wife’s illness. Investigators say Perez lied in 2007 Perez when he...