A former Connecticut deputy budget director who was convicted on 21 federal charges related to bribery and extortion fled to Greece before his sentencing hearing in court Thursday, according to his lawyer and prosecutors.
Konstantinos Diamantis, 70, escaped the country before he could have faced 10 to 12 years in prison as requested by the prosecution. He was accused of extorting private contractors for bribes between 2018 and 2021 in exchange for helping the companies keep and obtain work on school construction contracts. If he wasn’t paid, Diamantis allegedly threatened to terminate the contracts.
The defendant has maintained his innocence and even accused Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) of weaponizing the justice system against him.
“The injustice that has occurred to me and my family by political weaponization is beyond rational belief,” Diamantis wrote in an email provided to news outlets by defense attorney Norman Pattis. “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.”
The former state official alleged that Lamont abused the “power of his office and his powerful friendship with President Biden to create an insular system of justice” to protect the Democratic governor’s own wrongdoing.
In the email, Diamantis called on President Donald Trump and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington to review his case. There is another federal case in which he’s accused of taking bribes to quash a state audit of an eye doctor who allegedly engaged in Medicaid fraud.
It is unclear exactly when Diamantis fled to Greece, but prosecutors said he first traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas and then boarded a flight to England. The dual U.S.-Greek citizen obtained a Greek passport after surrendering his U.S. passport.
Greece does not allow the extradition of its own nationals to countries not in the European Union, so it’s unlikely the United States can legally force his return to face justice.
Lamont and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, also a Democrat, were quick to condemn the former state budget director’s hasty departure before his sentencing date.
“Kosta Diamantis betrayed the public’s trust and needs to be held accountable for his actions,” the governor said. “His repeated efforts to skirt justice are shameful. I hope he is apprehended and made to face the music as soon as possible.”
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“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,” Tong added. Officials have taken steps to halt the 70-year-old’s state pension payments.
A new sentencing date has been postponed to Sept. 30, regardless of Diamantis’s presence. U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, is presiding over the sentencing.