Former Hartford, Conn., mayor appeals corruption conviction, faults 2 cases put on trial as 1

Former Conn. mayor appeals corruption conviction

HARTFORD, Conn. — Lawyers for the former mayor of Hartford, Conn., have filed an appeal of his conviction on five corruption charges.

Eddie Perez’s lawyers argued that the court made an error in consolidating his two cases into one trial. One case accused him of bribe-receiving and being an accessory to fabricating evidence and another case included extortion charges.

The Hartford Courant reports that Perez lawyer Hope Seeley says Perez was harmed by the consolidation of the cases because he wished to testify in the bribe-receiving case but not in the extortion matter.

Perez was convicted in June of five felony charges, including bribery and extortion. He was sentenced last month to three years in prison but remains free on bond pending the appeal, which was filed Friday in Hartford Superior Court.

Information from: The Hartford Courant, www.courant.com