Andrew Brown / CT Mirror

Report details serious flaws in the state’s oversight of the Office of School Construction Grants & Review

The city of West Haven misspent nearly $893,000 in federal pandemic relief funding last year, according to a newly released audit, and the findings are forcing state officials to consider whether to take over the municipality’s troubled finances.

Federal authorities subpoenaed the town of Enfield late last month as part of a widening investigation into school construction projects in Connecticut and the state’s former deputy budget director, Kosta Diamantis.The subpoena, which was issued on Feb. 22, ordered local officials in Enfield to turn over seven years of records related to school building projects and any communications the town had with Diamantis, who ran Connecticut’s school grant program until October.

Connecticut lawmakers are set to consider a bill this session that would provide financial relief to individuals who received unemployment benefits during the pandemic but were later ordered to repay all, or part, of that money to the state.

A man charged with stealing more than $431,000 from the city of West Haven through fraudulent invoices also received more than $85,000 for picking up leaf bags for the city last August and September.

For years, Kosta Diamantis, the former director of Connecticut’s school grants program, advocated for a policy that would allow certain construction companies to claim more of the profits from school building projects — while potentially sidestepping the state’s normal bidding process.

Connecticut officials have notified at least two municipalities that the state will not honor financial promises made by Konstantinos Diamantis, who is now at the center of a federal criminal investigation.

West Haven Mayor: Payments of more than $182,000 to DiMassa’s wife and another woman are ‘fraud’

Treasurer’s office is making it easier for people to find and reclaim millions of dollars in uncashed checks, abandoned security deposits, forgotten insurance policies and other financial assets that are swept up by the state government.