Ex-Connecticut official flees to Greece before sentencing for corruption

A former senior budget official for Connecticut’s Democratic governor is now a fugitive in Greece after fleeing the U.S. by boat and plane ahead of his sentencing for corruption, his lawyer and prosecutors told a federal judge on Thursday.

Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 70, also sent his attorney a 10-page email accusing Gov. Ned Lamont of weaponizing the justice system against him, denying wrongdoing and saying his life, reputation and family relationships were ruined by the prosecution. He could have faced more than 10 years in prison at his sentencing Thursday in federal court in Bridgeport.

Diamantis, who was also a former Democratic state representative, was convicted by a federal jury last year of extorting private contractors for thousands of dollars in bribes from 2018 to 2021, in exchange for helping the companies keep and obtain work on multimillion-dollar school construction contracts. He told reporters at the time that he was afraid to go to prison.

The prospects of returning Diamantis — who holds both American and Greek citizenship — to the U.S. are unclear. Greek courts have upheld the claim that extradition of Greek nationals is forbidden.

Diamantis flew to England after traveling to the Bahamas by boat, officials say

Authorities and Diamantis’ lawyer, Norman Pattis, did not say when Diamantis left the U.S.

Federal prosecutors said he traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas, then boarded a plane to London. They said that although Diamantis had surrendered his U.S. passport, he obtained a Greek passport. Pattis said he was told by Diamantis during a phone call Wednesday night that he was in Greece and would not be attending the sentencing.

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill set a new sentencing date for Sept. 30 that would go forward with or without Diamantis in attendance.

Connecticut officials were quick Thursday to condemn Diamantis for fleeing the country and took steps to stop his state pension payments.

“Kosta Diamantis betrayed the public’s trust and needs to be held accountable for his actions,” the governor 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, also a Democrat, added 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 sought a decade-long prison sentence

Prosecutors asked the judge to send Diamantis to prison for 10 to 12 years, while Pattis argued in court documents for a sentence that included no prison time but strict conditions of release.

After the court hearing, the defense attorney told reporters that he was surprised that Diamantis fled the country.

“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.”

Diamantis maintained his innocence since his arrest

Pattis provided copies of the email Diamantis sent to him to media outlets.

“The injustice that has occurred to me and my family by political weaponization is beyond rational belief,” Diamantis wrote in the email. “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.”

He said he hopes President Donald Trump and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington would take a look at his case. Diamantis claimed Lamont used “the power of his office and his powerful friendship with President Biden to create an insular system of justice” aimed at protecting the governor’s own wrongdoing.

Diamantis has another pending criminal case in federal court, where he’s accused of taking bribes to quash a state audit of an eye doctor accused of Medicaid fraud.

Witnesses said they gave Diamantis envelopes of cash

In the school construction grants case, Diamantis was convicted of using his position as director of the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review to demand and ultimately receive thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors to steer building contracts their way, from 2018 to 2021.

He was accused of threatening to terminate those contracts if he wasn’t paid.

During the trial, witnesses testified about handing Diamantis envelopes of cash at various locations, 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, who testified in his own defense, admitted that he received the money but insisted it was legitimate consulting income.