What exactly is the problem?

    my $dbh;
    BEGIN {$dbh = DBI -> connect (...)}
    ...
    $dbh -> prepare (...);
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will work fine.

But why are you using a BEGIN block to set up the database connection? Why not just

    my $dbh = DBI -> connect (...);
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And if you really want to place it inside a block, I suggest using an INIT block.

Abigail