The Bridgeport police chief and personnel director are accused of rigging the 2018 police chief exam, according to the FBI.

Bridgeport Police Chief A.J. Perez and the department's personnel director have been charged with fraud and making false statements in connection with the city’s hiring of the police chief, according to the FBI.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said Perez has resigned. Ganim appointed Assistant Chief Rebecca Garcia to acting chief following Perez's resignation.

The announcement was made Thursday by Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss, Special Agent-in-Charge, New Haven Division, FBI, David Sundberg.

According to a press release, Perez and David Dunn, the city’s acting personnel director, were arrested for defrauding the city by rigging the 2018 police chief examination, mandated by the City’s Charter, to ensure Perez would be selected for the position.

Community activist Joe Grits says Perez's arrest could be a first step in cleaning up the city.

"If the head of the whole organization is corrupt, you're going to have to weed through and find out what else is funny in this building," said Grits.

Perez and Dunn were also charged with making false statements to federal agents in the course of the investigation.

Both defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport federal court Thursday afternoon.

Perez and Dunn both face some 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.