HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Hartford judge has agreed to combine two criminal cases against Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez into a single case.

Perez has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to extort $250,000 from a real estate developer and accepted a bribe from a city contractor who renovated his home.

Perez was not in court on Wednesday to hear the judge deny the request of two separate corruption trials.

Judge Julia Dewey agreed to a prosecutor's request to combine the cases and told Perez on Wednesday that it would go to trial in April.

Dewey added that she would not tolerate any more delays in the case.

Dewey said, "It's a jury trial. I don't want delays."

Perez's lawyers argued that combining the cases would deny the mayor of his right to a fair trial because the result will be what they call one extraordinarily complex case.

Perez was arrested in January on the bribery charges and in September on the extortion-related charges. He insists he did nothing wrong.