Top Democrat Official Tries to Flee Justice by Hiding Out in Greece Rather than Face Sentencing

A former senior official in Connecticut’s Democratic administration fled to Greece rather than appear for sentencing on federal corruption charges. Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 70, was due in a Bridgeport courtroom on September 17th after a jury convicted him in a school construction bribery case. His lawyer instead told the judge that Diamantis was in Greece and wouldn’t be attending. Prosecutors were seeking 10 to 12 years in prison.

Diamantis served as Connecticut’s deputy budget director and led the office that oversaw state grants for school construction. He was also a Democratic state representative before joining Governor Ned Lamont’s administration. A federal jury convicted him last year of extorting contractors who sought work on multimillion-dollar school projects. The actions at the center of the case took place between 2018 and 2021. The conviction came in October 2025.

Federal prosecutors described the route Diamantis took out of the country: a boat from Florida to the Bahamas, followed by a flight to London and travel onward to Greece. Diamantis had surrendered his U.S. passport, but he also held Greek citizenship and obtained a Greek passport. His attorney, Norman Pattis, learned of his whereabouts during a phone call the night before the hearing. Authorities didn’t disclose when Diamantis left the United States.

As the Associated Press reported, U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill rescheduled sentencing for September 30th and said it would proceed with or without Diamantis. Greece generally prohibits the extradition of its own nationals, complicating efforts to bring him back. Pattis told reporters he was surprised by his client’s decision and couldn’t support it. He said Diamantis had been facing “a tough day” in court.

At trial, witnesses described handing Diamantis envelopes of cash at his home, a doughnut shop, and a men’s room in an upscale restaurant. Prosecutors said he demanded payments from contractors in exchange for helping them obtain or retain school construction work. They also accused him of threatening to terminate contracts if the money stopped. Messages about some payments used terms including “birthday cards,” “pars” and “birdies.”

Diamantis took the stand and acknowledged receiving money from the contractors, but said it was legitimate consulting income. The jury rejected his account. Before he fled, Pattis had urged the court to impose a sentence without prison time and with strict conditions of release, while the prosecution asked for a decade or more behind bars. Pattis later told reporters he believed Diamantis would have received at least four or five years in prison, and possibly 10 to 12.

After the jury convicted him, Diamantis sent Pattis a 10-page email denying wrongdoing and accusing Governor Lamont of turning the justice system against him. He claimed that the prosecution had cost him his home, career, law license and reputation. He also said he hoped President Donald Trump and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington would examine his case. Pattis provided the email to news outlets after his client failed to appear in court.

Watch Diamantis speak to local news from Greece after fleeing the country:

Lamont condemned Diamantis’s flight and called for him to be apprehended. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the state would continue its efforts to protect taxpayer interests. State Comptroller Sean Scanlon suspended direct deposits of Diamantis’s pension payments after he failed to appear. Diamantis also faces a separate, pending federal case in which prosecutors accuse him of taking bribes to halt an audit involving an eye doctor accused of Medicaid fraud.

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.