Bridgeport Police Chief Arrested By FBI

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Armando Perez, Bridgeport's police chief, and David Dunn, the city's personnel director, were arrested by the FBI after they were accused of rigging nearly every stage of the police chief search process that led to Perez's hiring, according to federal prosecutors.

The two were also accused of making false statements to federal agents.

"Chief Perez and Personnel Director Dunn schemed to rig the purportedly impartial and objective search for a permanent police chief to ensure the position was awarded to Perez, and then repeatedly lied to federal agents in order to conceal their conduct," said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss.

The city began searching for a permanent police chief in 2018 while Perez was the acting police chief. Perez and Dunn rigged the process so that Perez would appear as one of the top three candidates, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Perez was released on a $150,000 bond and Dunn is expected to be released after posting a $150,000 bond, according to the Connecticut Post.

Mayor Joe Ganim said that Rebeca Garcia will be the acting police chief for the time being. The city is in the process of reviewing the criminal charges.

Below is a summary of allegations from the criminal complaint:

• Dunn obtained confidential exam questions developed by an outside consultant and emailed the material to Perez. Dunn also had the consultant tailor the exam scoring criteria to boost Perez's favorability.
• The FBI obtained copies of emails that showed Dunn did not email questions for an oral exam to any candidate except Perez, according to the complaint.
• Dunn directed the consultant to modify the scoring system to benefit Perez, according to the complaint. The consultant modified the point system to award more points for years in law enforcement, eliminated a penalty for not residing in Bridgeport (Perez lives in Trumbull) and eliminated a penalty for not having a college degree. Perez was the only applicant not to have a bachelor's degree.
• Perez had two city police officers write his written exam.
• One of the officers was placed on administrative leave before he could complete draft answers to the oral exam questions. The officer recorded a conversation with Perez where he offered to sneak into the Bridgeport Police Department headquarters and retrieve a file that would prepare Perez for the oral exam. The officer, at the direction of the FBI, recorded another conversation with Perez where Perez gave him tips on how to sneak into headquarters so he wouldn't be noticed.
• One of the panelists in an interview portion of the search told FBI investigators that Dunn called him at home and stated that Mayor Joe Ganim wanted Perez to be in the top three of the search process, according to the complaint.

Sixteen people applied for the police chief job.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim offered Perez a five-year contract with a payout of more than $300,000 for accrued leave and an annual salary of around $145,000.

Perez was a member of the Bridgeport Police Department for more than 35 years and was appointed acting chief in 2016.

Perez, 64, of Trumbull, and Dunn, 72, of Stratford, were each charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Perez is also charged with two counts of making false statements to federal investigators and Dunn is charged with one count of the same.