It was time for attorneys for Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez to fire back in his pending bribery case. Attorney Hubert Santos filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the case on the grounds that grand jury testimony contradicted the evidence against Perez.
Mayor Perez referred NBC 30 to his attorney, but Santos could not be reached Thursday.
Prosecutors say Perez illegally protected a multi-million dollar project that was done by a contractor who had renovated the Mayor's home.
The defense says prosecutors don't have the testimony to back that up. In fact, they said, the arrest warrant ignores testimony that says Perez didn't have an opinion on the contract. That's why they want the charges dismissed. But some say all evidence should be out in the open before anything is decided.
"It sounds as if it should all come forward, rather than some of it be dismissed or eliminated before it's been studied or come before a judge or a jury," said Dr. Larry Deutsch, a Hartford City Council member.
The motion, filed Thursday, says the grand jury testimony also backs up the mayor's contention that he always intended to pay for the home improvement work.
The Hartford Courant reports that Santos argues the contractor who worked on the Mayor's home says he thought he'd have access to the Mayor while waiting to be paid. Santos goes on to say giving access to a public official is not a corrupt act.
Deutsch disagrees.
"You would think for all public officials, they should be very careful about accepting anything whatsoever. Even a free pen or a free stethoscope in the case of medical care because it biases a person," said Dr. Deutsch.
