Something’s amiss in Hartford city government, a judge believes after investigating potential corruption in Mayor Eddie Perez’s administration, and there’s “probable cause” that crimes might have been committed. But there is no new public information on what those crimes might be.
Judge Dennis Eveleigh heard testimony from 150 witnesses and examined more than 300 items of evidence. On Tuesday, he released part of his final report on his findings.
Anyone looking for dirt would be disappointed because little new information was made public.
Eveleigh's report says he looked into potential extortion and other crimes but he’s withholding key parts of the document that name the subjects of the probe because it would affect their right to a fair trial, Eveleigh said.
While the report is scarce on details, there is evidence that another person committed two crimes, the Courant reports, citing letters filed in court Tuesday.
The letter, the Courant reports, was from John J. Kelly.
"I represent an interested party who was identified by name in the Final Report," Kelly wrote. "On page ten (10) of said Report, the Grand Juror found that '… probable cause exists that (my client) committed' two (2) crimes."
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Perez was charged in January with receiving a bribe in connection with renovations to his home done by a city contractor. He denies committing any crime.
While Eveleigh has found probable cause, that does not mean that Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane will file for arrest warrants, the Hartford Courant reports.
On Wednesday, a state Supreme Court hearing begins on whether the remainder of the grand jury report should be sealed or opened up for all to see.
