Four years after a federal subpoena first raised questions about oversight of school construction projects in Connecticut, Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, a former state representative and top school construction administrator, will face trial beginning Monday in Bridgeport federal court.
Diamantis, 69, of Bristol, once a seven-term Democratic lawmaker, later served in the budget office of Gov. Dannel Malloy and became head of the state’s school construction program. He resigned in October 2021 and was arrested in May 2024 on 22 criminal charges, including bribery, extortion, and 14 counts of making false statements to federal investigators. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors allege that Diamantis accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from Acranom Masonry Inc. of Middlefield and from the owner of Construction Advocacy Professionals (CAP), which hired his daughter.
The prosecution claims Diamantis pressured municipalities to steer contracts to favored companies. Evidence cited includes text messages, bank records, contracts, and testimony.
One key allegation involves Diamantis demanding late kickbacks tied to multimillion-dollar subcontracts:
“... And I always usually work at 5% of total, just FYI,” prosecutors quoted him in pretrial filings. “I’m asking for reasonable numbering on the team. Being on the team had value and it’s not zero. 50 (thousand dollars) is fair. Zero is an insult to my character.”
Prosecutors say Diamantis coerced Tolland officials to hire D’Amato Construction Co. of Bristol and pushed CAP into contracts in Tolland, New Britain, and Hartford. In one example, they allege CAP’s owner, Antonietta Roy, felt forced to hire Diamantis’ daughter, Anastasia, at $45 an hour. Shortly afterward, prosecutors claim, Roy wrote him a $1,000 check to keep business flowing.
By 2020, CAP had landed contracts worth more than $2 million across several school districts, including Hartford’s Bulkeley High School.
Jury selection began Friday before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill, with defense attorney Norman Pattis representing Diamantis. The defense has argued that allowing jurors to hear about guilty pleas from contractors already involved in the case would be unfairly prejudicial.
“Permitting the jury to learn of these pleas would unfairly prejudice the defendant,” Pattis wrote in a motion, adding, “It simply defies logic to say that a person extorts himself.”
Prosecutors plan to call numerous witnesses, including contractors who pleaded guilty—Salvatore Monarca, John Duffy, and Antonietta Roy—as well as former state officials and school administrators.
Among the possible witnesses is Gov. Ned Lamont, after Pattis added him to the defense’s list late last week. Other potential witnesses include former state police head Stavros Mellekas, former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin, and former Hartford school superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez.
Pattis unsuccessfully sought a trial delay, citing the federal government shutdown as a factor that could bias jurors. Judge Underhill denied the request, saying shutdowns generally do not impact federal court operations.
The trial is expected to spotlight not only alleged corruption in school construction contracting but also broader tensions between state and federal oversight. With 22 counts on the table, prosecutors are prepared to lay out years of alleged misconduct involving schools across Connecticut.
As the case begins, authorities say the trial will feature emails, receipts, municipal records, and testimony from co-conspirators, offering a detailed look at what they describe as a systemic abuse of public trust.
Originally reported by Ken Dixon in CT Insider.
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