Armando J. Perez, Police Chief Rigging, Connecticut 2018
Bridgeport Police Chief and Personnel Director Plead Guilty to Rigging City's Police Chief Search
Armando J. Perez, the former Chief of Police of the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and David Dunn, the City's former acting personnel director, have pled guilty to defrauding the City by rigging the 2018 police chief examination in order to ensure Perez would be selected for the position, and to making false statements to federal agents in the course of the investigation.
The charges arise from a criminal scheme to rig the City's search for a new Bridgeport Police Department chief in 2018. Perez, who was serving as the acting BPD chief at the time, conspired with Dunn to deceive the City by secretly rigging the supposedly independent search process for a new BPD chief to ensure that Perez was ranked as one of the top three candidates and could therefore be awarded a five-year contract to serve as the BPD chief.
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Informations, publicly available information, court filings, and statements made during the plea proceedings, the scheme involved multiple ways of manipulating the examination process, including stealing confidential examination questions and related information developed by an outside consultant, having the consultant tailor the examination scoring criteria to favor Perez, and enlisting two BPD officers to secretly draft and write Perez's written exam.
As a result of the scheme, the City was deceived into ranking Perez among the top three candidates, which rendered him eligible for the permanent police chief position. The mayor ultimately offered the position to Perez, and the City, under the assurance that Perez had been appointed in accordance with the City Charter, entered into a five-year contract with Perez, the terms of which included a payout to Perez for accrued leave.
PEREZ and DUNN were each voluntarily interviewed in connection with the FBI's investigation. In an attempt to conceal their conduct, during those interviews they both lied to FBI agents about facts material to the criminal investigation.
Defendant: Armando J. Perez
Criminal Charges: Defrauding the City by rigging the 2018 police chief examination and making false statements to federal agents
City and State: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Exact Date: 2018
Sentence or Outcome: Pled guilty
Dollar Amounts: None
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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