Kosta Diamantis, the former Connecticut deputy budget director and chief of school construction funding, had his sentencing rescheduled on Thursday after his attorney said he was in Greece, prompting a judge to issue a bench warrant and the state to stop his pension payments.
Diamantis was scheduled to be sentenced in federal court after he was convicted last year on 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy, and making false statements to investigators.
Instead, his attorney, Norm Pattis, told the court Thursday morning that Diamantis said he was in Greece.
Prosecutors said they could not confirm that Diamantis was in Greece, but said he traveled to Florida, took a boat to the Bahamas and had a flight booked from the Bahamas to London.
Prosecutors also said Diamantis used a Greek passport to travel. His U.S. passport remains in the custody of the government, according to prosecutors.
“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,” Comptroller Sean Scanlon, whose office administers state pension payments, said in a statement after Diamantis did not appear in court. “No one who has been convicted of defrauding the taxpayers and is now fleeing justice should continue receiving a pension.”
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The judge said a bench warrant would be issued for Diamantis. His sentencing has now been rescheduled for Sept. 30 at 10 a.m.
Pattis, said he was surprised by his client’s decision.
“I can’t say that I was stunned by what I heard, but I was surprised he made that choice,” Pattis said. “So as a lawyer, you know, I cannot support his decision to take the law into his own hands with his fellow human being. I understand why he did what he did.”
Attorney General William Tong said his office is “reviewing all legal options to fully enforce the law.”
“Kosta Diamantis abused the public trust and will be held accountable,” Tong said in a statement shortly after the announcement. “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. State law requires that my office take action to revoke or reduce the pension of state or municipal officials convicted of corruption-related charges. We are reviewing all legal options to fully enforce the law.”
Ryan Fazio, Republican nominee for governor who is challenging Gov. Ned Lamont in this year’s race, issued the following statement. Diamantis previously served in the Lamont administration.
“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,” said Senator Ryan Fazio. “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.”
Diamantis was promoted during Lamont’s first term to serve as a deputy at the Office of Policy and Management while continuing to oversee the state’s school construction program, which distributed hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
“Last week, I stood at the Capitol and called for answers about the corruption scandals that have occurred under this administration. Today, one of Governor Lamont’s former top budget officials is a convicted felon who fled the country rather than face the consequences. In my administration, the buck will stop with me.”
Ken Gray, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven, said he thought authorities considered Diamantis a low flight risk while he awaited sentencing.
“I guess they felt that he was a low flight risk and it turned out to be wrong,” Gray said.
Tolland Town Manager Brian Foley said the case has been stressful for town employees and volunteers involved in the school construction projects who were interviewed as part of the investigation.
“I thought that this is going to be a simple sentencing,” he said. “We had people, you know, older folks that have never been involved in a crime in their life. All of a sudden, you know, being brought into the FBI offices, and getting interviewed and it’s, you know, very stressful.”
