Diamantis flees to Greece before Connecticut corruption sentencing

A former senior budget official for Connecticut’s Democratic governor has fled to Greece ahead of his sentencing for corruption. Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 70, now holds fugitive status after leaving the U.S. by boat and plane before his federal court sentencing in Bridgeport on Thursday.

Diamantis was convicted last year by a federal jury of extorting private contractors for thousands of dollars in bribes from 2018 to 2021. Prosecutors said he helped the companies keep and obtain work on multimillion-dollar school construction contracts in exchange for the payments. He told reporters at the time that he was afraid to go to prison.

He could have faced more than 10 years in prison at Thursday’s 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.

Diamantis holds both American and Greek citizenship. Federal prosecutors said he traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas, then boarded a plane to London before reaching Greece. They said that although Diamantis had surrendered his U.S. passport, he obtained a Greek passport. The prospects of returning him to the U.S. are unclear, as Greek courts have upheld the claim that extradition of Greek nationals is forbidden.

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

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

“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,” Pattis told reporters after the hearing. “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 sent Pattis a 10-page email accusing Gov. Ned Lamont of weaponizing the justice system against him and denying wrongdoing.

“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.”

Diamantis, who was also a former Democratic state representative, said he hopes President Donald Trump and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington would take a look at his case. He 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.

Connecticut officials condemned 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.”

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. 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. He has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

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