A former top budget official under Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont failed to appear for his sentencing Thursday in federal court in Bridgeport, after fleeing the country by boat and plane to reach Greece, according to his attorney and federal prosecutors.
Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 70, was convicted last year of extorting private contractors for bribes between 2018 and 2021 in exchange for help keeping or winning multimillion-dollar school construction contracts. He had faced more than 10 years in prison at Thursday’s hearing.
Prosecutors told the court Diamantis traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas and then flew to London. He had surrendered his U.S. passport but had obtained a Greek passport, since he holds dual American and Greek citizenship, prosecutors said.
His attorney, Norman Pattis, said Diamantis called him Wednesday night from Greece to say he would not attend sentencing. Neither Pattis nor authorities said exactly when Diamantis left the U.S.
Because Greek courts have upheld a prohibition on extraditing Greek nationals, it remains unclear whether Diamantis can be returned to the United States to face sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill set a new sentencing date of Sept. 30, saying the proceeding would go forward whether or not Diamantis is present.
A lengthy email and political accusations
Before disappearing, Diamantis sent Pattis a 10-page email denying wrongdoing and accusing Gov. Lamont of using the justice system against him. Pattis shared copies of the email with reporters.
“The injustice that has occurred to me and my family by political weaponization is beyond rational belief,” Diamantis wrote. “I have lost everything that took me an entire lifetime to earn and more. It is devastating to lose your home, your children’s home, your car, your job, the ability to get a job, your law license, your honor, your dignity and pride.”
Diamantis wrote that he hopes President Donald Trump and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington will review his case. He also accused Lamont of using “the power of his office and his powerful friendship with President Biden to create an insular system of justice” to protect the governor’s own conduct.
State officials respond
Connecticut officials condemned Diamantis’s flight and moved to stop his state pension payments.
“Kosta Diamantis betrayed the public’s trust and needs to be held accountable for his actions,” Lamont said in a statement. “His repeated efforts to skirt justice are shameful. I hope he is apprehended and made to face the music as soon as possible.”
State Attorney General William Tong said in a statement, “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.”
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Diamantis to 10 to 12 years in prison, while Pattis had argued in court filings for a sentence with no prison time but strict release conditions.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Pattis said he was caught off guard by his client’s decision to flee. “I think that Mr. Diamantis was facing a tough day here today and would have gotten at least four or five years, perhaps 10 to 12,” he said. “So as a lawyer, I cannot support his decision to take the law into his own hands. But as a fellow human being, I understand why he did what he did.”
Background on the case
Diamantis, a former Democratic state representative, headed the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review. Prosecutors said he used that position to demand and receive thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors between 2018 and 2021, threatening to terminate contracts if he wasn’t paid.
Trial witnesses described handing Diamantis envelopes of cash in various places, including a men’s room at an upscale restaurant, a doughnut shop and his home. Some payments were referred to in messages as “birthday cards,” “pars” and “birdies.”
Diamantis testified in his own defense and admitted receiving the money, but claimed it was legitimate consulting income.
He also faces a separate pending federal case accusing him of taking bribes to quash a state audit of an eye doctor accused of Medicaid fraud.
