HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The FBI and a federal grand jury are looking into the conduct of a former Connecticut budget official in connection with hundreds of millions of dollars in state spending on school construction projects and improvements to a state pier in New London, according to a newly released subpoena seeking state records.
The grand jury subpoena seeks electronic communications dating back to Jan. 1, 2018, involving Konstantinos Diamantis, former deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and the “planning, bidding, awarding and implementation” of school construction projects, upgrades at the pier and hazardous material abatement projects. It’s not clear from the subpoena, issued on Oct. 20, what exactly federal authorities are investigating. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut, which subpoenaed the state records, declined to comment Thursday. The document was released by state officials Wednesday in response to requests by several Connecticut media organizations under Freedom of Information laws.
Diamantis declined to comment on the federal investigation Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. He previously has said he believed he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. He submitted a letter of resignation and retirement Oct. 28, the same day he was placed on paid administrative leave in connection with an investigation into what state officials called “alleged misconduct.” A message seeking comment was left for his lawyer Thursday.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s chief of staff, Paul Mounds Jr., said in a statement Thursday that the governor’s office is cooperating with federal authorities. “The administration has and will continue to comply fully with the ethics laws of the state because the people of Connecticut deserve transparency and accountability,” Mounds said. Also Wednesday, Lamont’s office released the findings of an independent investigation into the 2020 hiring of Diamantis’ daughter by Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr., Connecticut’s top criminal prosecutor.
That probe questioned the “integrity” of the hiring of Anastasia Diamantis as an executive assistant in Colangelo’s office, which came as Colangelo was lobbying Konstantinos Diamantis and others at OPM for pay raises for staff. The report says Colangelo, Konstantinos Diamantis and Anastasia Diamantis gave conflicting accounts to some questions by investigators that raised suspicion about the circumstances surrounding the hiring of Anastasia Diamantis.
Lamont has referred the findings to state ethics officials and the Criminal Justice Commission, which oversees state prosecutors, for potential further action.
Colangelo and Konstantinos Diamantis denied any wrongdoing Wednesday. Anastasia Diamantis did not return a message seeking comment. Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, a lawyer and former Democratic state representative, oversaw the state’s school construction funding program for six years.
Anastasia Diamantis previously worked part-time for a private, project management firm that did school construction projects in Connecticut, according to the investigation report of her hiring by Colangelo.She worked for Construction Advocacy Professionals, while also being employed as a state disability claims examiner assistant. She told investigators that her employment with the management company ended in October because of news stories about her hiring by Colangelo and that the company’s owner fired her because the owner did not want bad press for the company, the report says.
