Former Connecticut police chief receives 1 year prison sentence in hiring scandal

A former Connecticut police chief on Monday was sentenced by a federal judge to one year in prison for rigging the hiring process that led to his appointment as chief, The Associated Press reported.

Former Bridgeport Police Chief Armando “A.J.” Perez was the first Hispanic police chief in the city and had served more than 40 years at the department.

Prosecutors said that Perez received confidential info about the police chief’s examination prior to taking the test from former Bridgeport personnel director David Dunn, according to Associated Press. 

The information included the questions from the oral examination and a scoring guide for written essays. 

Perez also admitted that he had two officers complete essays for him and lied to federal authorities to cover up his actions. 

Both Perez, 65, and Dunn had resigned in September and pleaded guilty in the following month for defrauding the city and making false statements to FBI agents in connection with the scheme.

Perez has asked the judge to not send him to prison and sentence him to home confinement and probation, according to court documents before the sentencing.  

Perez apologized for his actions during the sentencing hearing.

“I accept responsibility. I am so sorry,” Perez said. “I spent all my life on the right side of the table and I betrayed myself. I should have said no. … I did this to myself, your honor. I did this to myself. I betrayed myself and then I panicked.”

After his one-year prison stint, Perez will also be ordered to do 100 hours of community service. He will begin his prison stint on May 24. 

Dunn is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.