Perez was arrested in 2009 and a convicted in 2010 on charges related to a failed development deal and work done by a city contractor on his house. It was alleged that Perez took part in two separate corrupt schemes, in the first one he was accused of accepting bribes from a city contractor (primarily discounted home renovation) in return for protecting the contractor from the consequences of shoddy work they had done for the city. The second case involved attempted larceny by extortion, it was alleged that Perez tried to coerce a Hartford businessman into paying a bribe to a friendly politician. Even after his conviction Perez claimed that he was innocent and vowed to appeal the conviction. Some, at the time of the Perez investigation, wondered if there was a connection between the Governor's Chief of Staff, the Chief State's Attorney and the investigation of Perez, a political opponent of the Governor.