On Wednesday, Connecticut’s former deputy budget director Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 69, was found guilty in Bridgeport Federal Court of felony charges bribery, extortion and lying to federal investigators after a two week trial.
He was found to have used his position overseeing Connecticut’s school construction office to demand thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for state contracts.
The offenses took place between 2018 and 2021) when Diamantis was the director of the CT’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review.
He was fired by Governor Ned Lamont in 2021 amid a federal investigation into his activities.
The jury began deliberations on Monday. Diamantis remains free on bond.
Twelve federal jurors deliberated for about a day and a half before finding Diamantis guilty of all 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to investigators.
After the verdict, attorney for Diamantis, Norm Pattis said the verdict was a disappointment. “We look forward to post trial proceedings and appeal,” he said. “And see you in court.”
Pattis added that Diamantis is facing a “catastrophic sentence.”
A judge has set a date for sentencing on Jan 14, 2026.
After the verdict, Governor Lamont issued the following statement:
“Public service is a public trust. The conviction of Mr. Diamantis is a stark reminder that when that trust is violated, there are consequences. Our state places a great deal of trust in our government and that trust is harmed by rogue, bad actors like this. Safeguarding that trust and taxpayer dollars is of the utmost importance to my administration. After immediately firing Kosta in 2021, I ordered actionable steps be swiftly taken to ensure this can never happen again. After returning school construction oversight back to the Department of Administrative Services, several proactive steps were taken to ensure accountability and restore public trust in the administration of school construction grants. These reforms have significantly reduced risk, improved accountability, and helped rebuild trust. My administration will continue to work to close gaps, improve oversight, and uphold the highest ethical standards across all state operations.”