HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut judge has vacated the corruption convictions of former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, but Perez will face new trials on the charges.
The state Supreme Court in July ordered the convictions overturned, saying two cases were improperly combined into one trial.
Perez appeared Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court, where Judge Julia Dewey dismissed the convictions. Prosecutors said they plan to hold two new trials. Dates for the trials haven’t been set.
Perez was convicted in 2010 of taking bribes and attempted extortion. He was sentenced to three years in prison but remained free pending appeal.
Perez, a Democrat, was Hartford’s first Hispanic mayor, serving from 2001 to 2010. He resigned after being convicted of accepting a contractor’s bribe of home improvements and trying to extort $100,000 from a developer.
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