Gov. Ned Lamont's former budget chief was found guilty on all counts Wednesday in his bribery and extortion trial.
The jury found Kosta Diamantis guilty on 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and making false statements.
Diamantis oversaw hundreds of millions for school construction projects.
During the trial, three contractors testified that Diamantis bribed them in exchanged for multimillion-dollar jobs.
While Diamantis admitted to taking money from them, he insisted they were legal fees or referral fees outside of this job.
Diamantis will be sentenced on Jan. 14.
Statement from Lamont:
“Public service is a public trust. 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. After immediately firing Kosta in 2021, I ordered actionable steps be swiftly taken to ensure this can never happen again. After returning school construction oversight back to the Department of Administrative Services, several proactive steps were taken to ensure accountability and restore public trust in the administration of school construction grants. These reforms have significantly reduced risk, improved accountability, and helped rebuild trust. My administration will continue to work to close gaps, improve oversight, and uphold the highest ethical standards across all state operations.”