One day after
Bridgeport's former police chief learned he's going to federal prison, the
city's former personnel director is also headed there - but for less time.
Former Bridgeport
Personnel Director David Dunn was joined by his family in federal court Tuesday
as he learned his fate - four months in prison for helping to rig the city's
police chief search in 2018, and then lying to federal investigators about it.
On Monday, the
same federal judge sentenced ex-Police Chief AJ Perez for his role in the
scheme - giving him a year and a day.
In court, Dunn took full
responsibility for his actions and apologized to the people of Bridgeport,
acknowledging he'd betrayed their trust.
"As I stand
before you, the wrongness of my conduct is apparent," he said. "I hope today is the first step in helping the
city recover from the harm I've caused it."
In a sentencing memorandum, Dunn's
attorney wrote that Dunn believed Perez was the best candidate for the job but
was at a disadvantage since English was Perez's second language and he lacked a
college degree.
The details of the police chief scheme are laid out in a sentencing memo submitted to the court by prosecutors.
The memo also noted Dunn believed
his superiors wanted Perez to get the job because the mayor and Perez had a
close relationship, the mayor had made him acting chief and City Council
members had asked about Perez and no other candidates.
When handing down her ruling, Judge
Kari Dooley called Dunn's actions "inexplicable" and "corruption
at the highest echelon of city government."
In addition to prison time, Dooley sentenced Dunn to two years supervised
release, a fine and 100 hours of community service.
He and Perez were
also ordered to pay back nearly $300,000 in restitution to the city.
Dunn had no comment as he left the courthouse.