Facing a potential sentence of more than a decade in prison for bribery and extortion committed as a high-ranking state official, a defiant Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis has fled to Greece, beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, his lawyer informed prosecutors and the judge on Thursday.
Diamantis, 70, is a dual citizen of Greece, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S. He sent his lawyer a rambling 10-page email accusing Gov. Ned Lamont and former President Joe Biden of “weaponizing” the Department of Justice to unfairly prosecute him.
Diamantis was to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport for using his influence as a state official overseeing school construction grants to extort bribes from two companies he helped land contracts worth $8.5 million for projects in Hartford, New Britain and Tolland.
[The Kosta Diamantis timeline]
In the same courtroom where a jury returned guilty verdicts on 21 counts a year ago, U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill was expected to impose a penalty reflecting the scope of a conspiracy that Diamantis led from 2018 until the Lamont administration moved to fire him in 2021.
Diamantis had asked Underhill to set aside sentencing guidelines that produced a recommended a sentence between 121 and 151 months in prison, a penalty that his lawyer, Norman A. Pattis, had argued in a filing “would consume much of Mr. Diamantis’ remaining life.”
Diamantis repeatedly asked to travel to Greece while he was awaiting trial last year. Prosecutors also warned the judge after he was convicted that Diamantis had sought Greek citizenship and had obtained a Greek passport. The judge allowed Diamantis to remain out on bond as he awaited sentencing, however.
That sentencing was supposed to occur earlier this year, but it was repeatedly delayed as Diamantis prepared for a second corruption trial, in which he is accused of cancelling a state audit investigating potential Medicaid fraud for a Bristol eye doctor, who was a friend and close acquaintance.
In the email sent to his attorney, Diamantis cast the prosecution as “politically motivated.” He also said that the Department of Justice was “weaponized” against him, copying language frequently used by President Donald Trump.
The email reads like another appeal to the Republican president, from whom he has requested a pardon.
Diamantis blames Lamont, his former boss, for the federal charges leveled against him. And he claims the criminal case that was brought was meant to distract the public from the governor and his wife’s business dealings.
“The entire investigation was a politically insulated script written by Lamont, Connecticut DOJ and Connecticut tight knit legal aristocracy hired by Lamont to protect himself and his family from scrutiny and ensure I would be discredited,” Diamantis wrote.
Diamantis was a Democratic lawmaker representing Bristol in the state House of Representatives for 14 years until losing a primary in 2006. A former House colleague hired him in 2015 during the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to oversee the Office of School Construction Grants and Review.
He was permitted to keep that post after Melissa McCaw, the first secretary of policy and management under Lamont, named him as her deputy in the office at the heart of state government. Its wide-ranging responsibilities included the preparation and management of the budget.
The only indicted conspirators were three executives at the two construction companies Diamantis extorted.
Diamantis’ sentencing has been rescheduled for Sept. 30.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
