Hartford Mayor Arrested on Bribery Charges

Hartford's mayor turned himself in today on charges of having a city contractor do $40,000 in work at his home and paying for it only after being confronted by investigators. Eddie Perez, a native of Puerto Rico and the first Hispanic mayor in the city's history, admitted "a lapse in judgment" but said he did not commit a crime. He pledged to remain in office.

Perez, the Democratic mayor of Connecticut's capital city since 2001, was charged with receiving a bribe and falsifying evidence. The contractor, Carlos Costa, told investigators he thought he would be shut out of lucrative city contracts had he not done the work for free, prosecutors said today. (More Eddie Perez stories.)