Two more witnesses point finger at Kosta Diamantis in bribery and extortion trial
Two construction managers testified that the former state budget deputy pressured them to award a $3 million contract to a masonry contractor, despite concerns about sloppy work.
More Stories
Weaver High School in Hartford needed a major renovation. After all, it was built more than 50 years ago.
But problems arose immediately.
Project managers flagged “quality concerns” with a masonry contractor’s work.
Despite that, Kosta Diamantis pressured construction managers to pay the company a $300,000 settlement – and even award them another $3 million contract – according to testimony at his corruption trial on Wednesday.
UNUSUAL INTERVENTION
Diamantis faces 22 counts of bribery, extortion and lying to the FBI. He is on trial at Bridgeport Federal Court.
As the head of Connecticut’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review (OSCGR), Diamantis oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars.
But in Feb. 2020, he did something unusual.
Diamantis directly intervened in a payment dispute on behalf of Acranom – a company that allegedly paid him nearly $100,000 in bribes.
The move raised red flags.
“Is it typical for the head of OSCGR to be involved in a dispute of this nature?” prosecutors asked Newfield Construction president Brian Ouellette, who oversaw the Weaver High project.
“Not in my experience,” Ouellette responded.
Despite their concerns, Ouellette said project managers felt they had no choice but to award Acranom a second contract.
“Attempts to convince those with the ‘power of the purse’ at OSCGR that the risks … outweigh the additional cost” have failed, they wrote in a 2019 email shown to jurors on Thursday.
“BIRTHDAY CARD”
Prosecutors said Diamantis went to bat for Acranom because they bribed him to.
The company paid him nearly $100,000 – including a cash payment in a restaurant bathroom – according to former vice president John Duffy. He referred to payments as “pints,” “pars and birdies” and a “birthday card” in text messages.
"Without Kosta’s involvement or influence, we probably wouldn’t have got that job,” Duffy told jurors.
DIAMANTIS RESPONDS
Defense attorney Norm Pattis accused both contractors of shaking Diamantis down for jobs – not the other way around.
He said the former budget deputy is eager to testify and tell his side of the story.
“Have you ever been accused of something?” Pattis said on Wednesday. “I think a person who’s accused wants the factfinder to hear from them. I think Kosta wants to be heard.”
Pattis also said that U.S. Marshals are preparing to serve a subpoena on Gov. Ned Lamont to testify in the case.
“As soon as we got some wind that something may not be right, we changed the actors there," Lamont said on Tuesday. "But I’ve got to do everything I can to make sure something like this can never happen again.”
ENOUGH JURORS?
There’s some concern about whether there will be enough jurors for this trial. Two have already had to drop out – one for an illness and one due to child care concerns. That leaves just two alternates left.
On Thursday, Tolland’s school superintendent is expected to tell jurors that Diamantis pressured him to hire another contractor, a construction administrator called CAP, even though the district already had someone on staff for that job.
Jurors could also hear from Frank Dellarpia, a Hartford School Building Committee member who allegedly helped Diamantis secure contract approvals.
Dellaripa has not been charged, but Duffy and Acranom owner Sal Monarca both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe Diamantis. So did CAP owner Antonietta Roy.
Roy testified on Tuesday, while Monarca is expected to testify next week.
