Connecticut
Former budget official convicted of taking bribes from school construction contractors
A former top official in Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office was convicted Wednesday of extorting private contractors for thousands of dollars in bribes as he oversaw large sums of state money for school construction projects.
Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 69, also a former Democratic state representative and a lawyer, was convicted by a federal jury in Bridgeport of more than 20 charges, including extortion, bribery, conspiracy and false statements. Sentencing is set for Jan. 14.
“It was a clean sweep, I was just hoping it would go the other way,” Diamantis told reporters after leaving the courtroom.
His lawyer, Norman Pattis, said they plan to appeal the convictions, calling them a “disappointment.” He said Diamantis could be facing a “catastrophic sentence” of 10 years or more.
Diamantis, who denied the allegations and remains free on bond, was accused 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, from 2018 to 2021, in exchange for helping the companies obtain and maintain contracts for work on multimillion-dollar, state-funded school construction projects.
He was also 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 in a men’s room at an upscale downtown Hartford restaurant, at a doughnut shop and at Diamantis’ Farmington 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 for helping a masonry company expand its business. He said he researched state ethics rules and believed the payments were legal, maintaining he had no authority over which companies received contracts.
He also denied accusations that he used his power to obtain payments and a job for his daughter at an “inflated salary” from the owner of a construction management company. Antonietta Roy, who owns Construction Advocacy Professionals and already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, testified that she “did not want to get on his bad side.”
Prosecutors highlighted emails and texts showing Diamantis pressing his former brother-in-law, masonry company vice president John Duffy, for cash, writing, “I’ve done my part, I need action,” and warning he was close to missing a mortgage payment. Duffy forwarded the message to company president Salvatore Monarca, saying Diamantis was “like a vulture.” Both men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe the former official.
Early in the trial, Pattis unsuccessfully sought to subpoena Lamont, arguing that his testimony would show Diamantis’ urgency stemmed from the governor’s push to finish projects on time. The judge ruled Lamont’s testimony irrelevant to the charges.
Lamont has distanced himself from the scandal, saying that he didn’t hire Diamantis and that he removed him from his posts in 2021 after “allegations of ethical improprieties surfaced.” The Democrat ordered an independent review of the school construction grant program, which led to several changes.
Lamont issued a statement about Diamantis’ convictions.
“Public service is a public trust,” he said. “The conviction of Mr. Diamantis is a stark reminder that when that trust is violated, there are consequences. Our state places a great deal of trust in our government and that trust is harmed by rogue, bad actors like this. Safeguarding that trust and taxpayer dollars is of the utmost importance to my administration.”
Speaking to WTNH-TV on Tuesday, Diamantis said he was afraid of going to prison.
“Do I deserve it? I do not. And I’m hoping the jury comes to that,” he said.
A second federal corruption case against Diamantis remains pending. In that case, he pleaded not guilty to allegations that in exchange for bribes, he helped pressure state officials in 2020 into canceling the audit of an eye doctor who later pleaded guilty to Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
Washington
Lawsuit: Police detained man for protesting National Guard patrol with Darth Vader song
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights.
Sam O’Hara’s federal lawsuit says the ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” is the soundtrack for his peaceful protests against President Donald Trump’s deployment of Guard members in Washington, D.C. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O’Hara’s videos of his interactions with troops, according to the suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.
O’Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, says he didn’t interfere with the Ohio National Guard troops during their Sept. 11 encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests,” his lawsuit says.
O’Hara also sued four MPD officers and the Guard member who called them to the scene. The suit accuses them of violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. O’Hara is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
O’Hara’s lawsuit says he became “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods.”
O’Hara had staged and recorded other “Star Wars”-themed protests against Guard deployments. The troops mostly ignored him, the suit says.
On Sept. 11, O’Hara was returning home from work when he began following four armed Guard members from Ohio. Less than two minutes later, one of the troops warned him that he would summon police officers to “handle” him if he kept following them, according to the suit.
The police officers who arrived minutes later accused O’Hara of harassing the troops, which he denied. They detained him without conducting any investigation and ignored his complaints that the handcuffs were too tight, the suit alleges.
Former budget official convicted of taking bribes from school construction contractors
A former top official in Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office was convicted Wednesday of extorting private contractors for thousands of dollars in bribes as he oversaw large sums of state money for school construction projects.
Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 69, also a former Democratic state representative and a lawyer, was convicted by a federal jury in Bridgeport of more than 20 charges, including extortion, bribery, conspiracy and false statements. Sentencing is set for Jan. 14.
“It was a clean sweep, I was just hoping it would go the other way,” Diamantis told reporters after leaving the courtroom.
His lawyer, Norman Pattis, said they plan to appeal the convictions, calling them a “disappointment.” He said Diamantis could be facing a “catastrophic sentence” of 10 years or more.
Diamantis, who denied the allegations and remains free on bond, was accused 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, from 2018 to 2021, in exchange for helping the companies obtain and maintain contracts for work on multimillion-dollar, state-funded school construction projects.
He was also 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 in a men’s room at an upscale downtown Hartford restaurant, at a doughnut shop and at Diamantis’ Farmington 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 for helping a masonry company expand its business. He said he researched state ethics rules and believed the payments were legal, maintaining he had no authority over which companies received contracts.
He also denied accusations that he used his power to obtain payments and a job for his daughter at an “inflated salary” from the owner of a construction management company. Antonietta Roy, who owns Construction Advocacy Professionals and already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, testified that she “did not want to get on his bad side.”
Prosecutors highlighted emails and texts showing Diamantis pressing his former brother-in-law, masonry company vice president John Duffy, for cash, writing, “I’ve done my part, I need action,” and warning he was close to missing a mortgage payment. Duffy forwarded the message to company president Salvatore Monarca, saying Diamantis was “like a vulture.” Both men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe the former official.
Early in the trial, Pattis unsuccessfully sought to subpoena Lamont, arguing that his testimony would show Diamantis’ urgency stemmed from the governor’s push to finish projects on time. The judge ruled Lamont’s testimony irrelevant to the charges.
Lamont has distanced himself from the scandal, saying that he didn’t hire Diamantis and that he removed him from his posts in 2021 after “allegations of ethical improprieties surfaced.” The Democrat ordered an independent review of the school construction grant program, which led to several changes.
Lamont issued a statement about Diamantis’ convictions.
“Public service is a public trust,” he said. “The conviction of Mr. Diamantis is a stark reminder that when that trust is violated, there are consequences. Our state places a great deal of trust in our government and that trust is harmed by rogue, bad actors like this. Safeguarding that trust and taxpayer dollars is of the utmost importance to my administration.”
Speaking to WTNH-TV on Tuesday, Diamantis said he was afraid of going to prison.
“Do I deserve it? I do not. And I’m hoping the jury comes to that,” he said.
A second federal corruption case against Diamantis remains pending. In that case, he pleaded not guilty to allegations that in exchange for bribes, he helped pressure state officials in 2020 into canceling the audit of an eye doctor who later pleaded guilty to Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
Washington
Lawsuit: Police detained man for protesting National Guard patrol with Darth Vader song
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights.
Sam O’Hara’s federal lawsuit says the ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” is the soundtrack for his peaceful protests against President Donald Trump’s deployment of Guard members in Washington, D.C. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O’Hara’s videos of his interactions with troops, according to the suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.
O’Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, says he didn’t interfere with the Ohio National Guard troops during their Sept. 11 encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests,” his lawsuit says.
O’Hara also sued four MPD officers and the Guard member who called them to the scene. The suit accuses them of violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. O’Hara is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
O’Hara’s lawsuit says he became “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods.”
O’Hara had staged and recorded other “Star Wars”-themed protests against Guard deployments. The troops mostly ignored him, the suit says.
On Sept. 11, O’Hara was returning home from work when he began following four armed Guard members from Ohio. Less than two minutes later, one of the troops warned him that he would summon police officers to “handle” him if he kept following them, according to the suit.
The police officers who arrived minutes later accused O’Hara of harassing the troops, which he denied. They detained him without conducting any investigation and ignored his complaints that the handcuffs were too tight, the suit alleges.
