Justice has been served by the federal corruption conviction of Kosta Diamantis, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.
Diamantis, a former deputy budget director and head of school construction, was found guilty on all 21 counts by a jury in the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport on Wednesday.
“Jury of your peers, you've got to be held accountable. I think justice was delivered,” Lamont said at the groundbreaking of a new Residence Inn by Marriott at Steelepoint Harbor in Bridgeport when the jury verdict was announced.
He said rogue, bad actors like Diamantis harm trust in government.
That’s why he fired Diamantis in 2021 and immediately implemented changes to how school construction is handled.
“Tightening up all our processes in state government to make sure it’s less likely. Somebody with criminal intent, it’s really hard to stop it all. We are going to make it less likely and hold people accountable,” Lamont said.
State Republicans have accused Lamont of mismanagement, a lack of oversight, and accountability in his handling of the Diamantis corruption scandal.
Lamont pushed back.
“Look at how we’ve responded to any of these examples of malfeasance. We hold people accountable. We do it on a timely basis. In the case of Kostas, as soon as I heard about some potential wrongdoing, he was gone,” the governor said.
Oversight of state school construction grants has been returned to the Department of Administrative Services.
