Convicted former Connecticut school construction chief Kosta Diamantis is an international fugitive.
He failed to appear for sentencing at federal court in Bridgeport on Thursday, where attorneys said Diamantis had used his Greek passport to skip bail and escape the country.
Prosecutors believe that Diamantis drove to Florida, then took a boat to the Bahamas before flying to London on the way to his parents’ home country, Greece.
The government was seeking 10-to-12 years in prison for Diamantis, 70, who was convicted last year when a jury agreed with prosecutors that he extracted bribes from construction contractors in return for lucrative state contracts.
The judge rescheduled sentencing for Sept. 30, but now that Diamantis has used his Greek citizenship to escape, it’s unclear if that same status will prevent him from being extradited. Greece rarely extradites its own citizens.
"I've spoken to him several times today, and nothing has changed," says defense attorney Norm Pattis. "He asked me to quarterback efforts to resist extradition to the United States, and I'm preparing to do so."
Pattis says Diamantis has no intention of returning, and predicts the government will have a difficult time retrieving him, because Greece generally opposes the extradition of its citizens.
Citing what he calls Diamantis’ “greed, corruption, and abject lack of integrity,” federal prosecutor David Novick wrote the following in a sentencing memo dated Sept. 10:
Over a three-year period from 2018 to 2021, defendant Konstantinos (or “Kosta”) Diamantis exploited his high-level position in Connecticut state government to solicit and receive bribes from contractors looking to obtain or retain business on massive public school construction projects that were funded in part by the state. Diamantis solicited, cajoled, intimidated, and outright threatened two contractors in particular, Acranom Masonry Inc. and Constructional Advocacy Professionals, LLC (“CAP”), to provide him with compensation in exchange for using his influence to get those contractors work. Because Diamantis exercised almost unfettered control over who was awarded contracts, Acranom and CAP acceded to his demands and paid tens of thousands of dollars in bribes lest they be excluded from receiving lucrative school construction work. The cities and towns building these schools likewise were compelled to bend to Diamantis’s will rather than face the risk that he would refuse to fund their most critical projects. As a result, they hired contractors like Acranom and CAP because of Diamantis’s directive rather than because of quality or price. Municipalities were unaware that the real reason those contractors were retained was because they were paying Diamantis.
Convicted on 21 federal counts including bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators, Diamantis tells his attorney in a letter that the legal system has been weaponized against him. He faces trial in a separate corruption case.
In statement Thursday morning, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon said he’s cutting off Diamantis’ state pension, saying, “This morning, upon confirmation that Kosta Diamantis did not appear at his sentencing and has fled the country, I have discontinued the direct deposit of his monthly pension payment. No one who has been convicted of defrauding the taxpayers and is now fleeing justice should continue receiving a pension.”
State Attorney General William Tong wrote in support of the comptroller’s move, writing, “Kosta Diamantis abused the public trust and will be held accountable. His disappearance this morning is a shameful insult to every person in Connecticut and will not deter our efforts to fully protect the state’s interest and taxpayer dollars.”
Diamantis is a former Democratic state representative who was hired to handle school construction funding by Gov. Dannell Malloy. He was kept on by Gov. Ned Lamont, who fired him in 2021.
Ryan Fazio, Lamont’s Republican opponent in this year’s race, writes, “When Governor Lamont promoted Kosta Diamantis and put him in a position of enormous authority over taxpayer dollars, he was putting his trust in him to safeguard the public’s money. That decision ended with Diamantis convicted on federal corruption charges, and now he has fled the country rather than face sentencing. The taxpayers deserve accountability for the judgment and failures that allowed this to happen.”
Gov. Lamont issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, “Kosta Diamantis betrayed the public’s trust and needs to be held accountable for his actions. His repeated efforts to skirt justice are shameful. I hope he is apprehended and made to face the music as soon as possible."
