BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The police chief of Connecticut’s largest city was arrested Thursday on federal charges that he teamed with Bridgeport’s personnel director to rig the hiring process to make sure he’d get his job.
Federal prosecutors in New York and FBI officials in Connecticut announced the arrest of Bridgeport Police Chief Armando “A.J.” Perez along with David Dunn, the city’s acting personnel director.
Perez, 64, of Trumbull, Connecticut, and Dunn, 72, of Stratford, Connecticut, were each charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and with making false statements to investigators.
A criminal complaint alleged that they defrauded the city of 144,000 people by rigging the 2018 police chief examination to put Perez in position to secure the post as head of a police department with an annual budget of over $100 million and more than 400 officers.
The previous police chief had resigned in March 2016.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in New York City said the men corrupted what was supposed to be an impartial and objective search for a permanent police chief “and then repeatedly lied to federal agents in order to conceal their conduct.”
According to a criminal complaint in Connecticut, Dunn gave confidential examination questions in advance to Perez, had two police officers secretly write Perez’s written exam and tailored the examination scoring criteria to favour Perez.
It said the manoeuvrs were designed to ensure Perez, who has been with the police department nearly four decades, was ranked among the top three candidates and could thus qualify to be awarded a five-year contract as chief.
The terms of his contract included a $300,000 payout for accrued leave, the complaint said.
Perez and Dunn both were voluntarily interviewed during the FBI’s investigation, but they lied to agents to conceal what they did to corrupt the examination process, the complaint said.
A message seeking comment was left with Perez’s lawyer, Robert Frost Jr., prior to an initial appearance Thursday afternoon in federal court in Bridgeport, at which he was freed on a $150,000 bond. Dunn’s lawyer, Frederick Paoletti, declined to comment.
Rowena White, a spokesperson for Mayor Joe Ganim, said city officials were working on a response to the arrests and had no immediate comment Thursday afternoon.
Ganim served nearly seven years in prison after he was convicted of corruption for steering city contracts in exchange for private gifts during his first tenure of Bridgeport mayor, which ran from 1991 until his resignation in 2003.
He was released from prison in 2010 but was elected mayor again in 2015 after apologizing and asking residents for a second chance.
The Associated Press
