Ex-Connecticut budget official for Gov. Lamont arrested on federal charges

A former top official in Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office who played a key role in school construction grants and offshore wind projects was arrested Thursday morning on federal charges, a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis, a former state representative from Bristol and a lawyer, was expected to appear in Hartford federal court at a time to be determined, said spokesman Thomas Carson. Details of the arrest are under seal and were not available.

Diamantis, a former deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, resigned in October 2021 on the same day he was placed on paid administrative leave pending a misconduct investigation, according to a letter from the state's personnel office.

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A message was left seeking comment Thursday with Diamantis. In 2021, Diamantis told The Associated Press he could not discuss the investigation, but he believed he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

A spokesperson for Lamont did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Diamantis' arrest.

In March 2022, state officials received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking electronic communications dating to Jan. 1, 2018, involving Diamantis and the "planning, bidding, awarding and implementation" of school construction projects, upgrades at the state pier in New London, and hazardous material abatement projects.

Oversight of school construction grants was originally administered by the Department of Administrative Services before moving to the Office of Policy and Management when Diamantis moved from one agency to the next. It’s now handled by DAS again.

An attorney for Diamantis has previously said his client "broke no law" and "many of the claims of undue influence and so forth are people who simply don’t understand the state bidding process."

Diamantis, who submitted his retirement paperwork when he resigned, is earning $72,514 a year from a state pension, according to state records.

He was suspended and then resigned about a month after a Hartford Courant columnist wrote about Diamantis’ daughter being hired for a $99,000-a-year position in the Division of Criminal Justice "without any evident competition."

Connecticut’s former top prosecutor, Richard Colangelo Jr., later retired as a state oversight commission considered whether to hold termination hearings on his decision to hire Diamantis' daughter while pressing Diamantis for pay raises for high-ranking state’s attorneys. Colangelo denied any wrongdoing.