Connecticut official Diamantis misses federal sentencing; prosecutors say he left for Greece

Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis, a former Connecticut state representative and high-ranking state official convicted on federal corruption charges, did not appear at his scheduled sentencing hearing Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport before Judge Stefon Underhill, according to court proceedings described by CT Examiner and CT News Junkie. His attorney, Norm Pattis, told the judge that Diamantis called him Wednesday night to say he would not be attending and was already in Greece, the sources reported. Federal prosecutors said they believe Diamantis traveled by boat to the Bahamas and then flew to London, later going on to Greece using a Greek passport; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis told the court the investigation was about 16 hours old and that Diamantis was on government watch lists but the Bahamas flight would not have triggered an alert. Diamantis had been free on a $500,000 bond while sentencing was postponed repeatedly. Underhill said he planned to sentence Diamantis in absentia, rescheduled the hearing for Sept. 30, said he would issue a bench warrant for fleeing and would consider a government motion to revoke bond. In Hartford, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon said he had stopped Diamantis's monthly pension payments, and Attorney General William Tong said his office was reviewing legal options on the pension.

CT Examiner reported that a jury found Diamantis guilty of 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators, and that he remained free on a $500,000 bond as sentencing was postponed several times. CT News Junkie described the conviction as on multiple counts of extortion, bribery and making false statements. CT Examiner said the verdict came last October; CT News Junkie said the conviction was in October 2025.

According to CT Examiner, Pattis told Underhill that Diamantis called him Wednesday night to say he would not appear and was already in Greece, and that Diamantis told him his location but Pattis did not disclose it in court. CT Examiner reported that before alerting Pattis he planned to leave the country, Diamantis provided a nine-page statement that was entered as evidence at Thursday's hearing, in which he maintained his innocence, said he would keep "fighting for the truth," accused federal prosecutors of weaponizing and politically exploiting his case, and said he does not trust the Connecticut federal court system.

CT Examiner reported that Francis said prosecutors believe Diamantis booked a flight from the Bahamas to London about three weeks ago and then traveled from London to Greece on his Greek passport, and that Diamantis had booked similar flights in May and September but never boarded them, with the U.S. attorney's office never alerted to those attempts. Francis acknowledged the process "needed to be reviewed for the future" and said, "We're assuming he is hunkered down in Greece and plans to remain there."

On extradition, CT Examiner reported that both Francis and Pattis said returning a Greek citizen quickly would be difficult, if possible at all, with Francis saying there are issues with extraditing a Greek citizen and that authorities might have to work through the European Union, and that it could take years. Underhill expressed hope Diamantis could be brought back before sentencing, citing another case in which a person fled to Bangladesh and was returned within four days, according to CT Examiner. CT News Junkie reported that the U.S. Attorney's office is investigating the disappearance and exploring extradition options.

CT Examiner reported that Underhill had earlier allowed Diamantis to remain free on bond after Diamantis told the court he obtained dual citizenship with Greece and a Greek passport in March 2025, saying he applied so his children could do the same and to ease an inheritance matter after his father left him a small piece of property. Diamantis told the judge the passport had been sent to Greece for the property transfer, that the clerk's office held his U.S. passport and that he did not have the Greek passport, and said he was "an officer of the court and won't defy the judge's orders." CT Examiner reported that prosecutors did not ask Underhill to revoke bond, raise it or require an ankle monitor, and that Francis agreed to a Pattis motion allowing Diamantis to remain free to help prepare for an expected second corruption trial.

CT Examiner reported that in that second case, prosecutors allege Diamantis used his influence as a high-ranking state official to stop a Medicaid audit of Helen Zervas, a Bristol optometrist, in exchange for nearly $100,000, and that Zervas was the fiancée of former State Rep. Christopher Ziogas. That trial, originally scheduled for February and then postponed to December, is now in limbo, according to CT Examiner. CT Examiner also reported that Diamantis has sought a pardon from President Donald Trump while free, and that the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice said no action has been taken on the pending application.

CT Examiner reported that Diamantis retired as head of the state's Office of School Construction Grants and Review after federal officials issued subpoenas in 2022 for records on several school projects under his oversight, and that prosecutors indicted him alleging he steered contracts on school projects in exchange for more than $75,000 in bribes, using text messages, bank records and emails to show negotiations with owners of Acranom Masonry for a Tolland school building project and an exchange of Construction Advocacy Professionals jobs for a job for his daughter, Anastasia Diamantis. CT News Junkie reported that in his prior role Diamantis oversaw roughly $500 million a year in state reimbursements for local school building projects.

On the pension, CT News Junkie reported that Scanlon said he stopped the direct deposit of Diamantis's monthly pension payment as soon as he learned Diamantis failed to appear in court. The outlet reported that just before Scanlon's statement, Tong said he was reviewing all legal options related to revoking the pension, and that state law requires his office to act to revoke or reduce the pension of state or municipal officials convicted of corruption-related charges, while under federal law a conviction is typically deemed final after sentencing. CT News Junkie also reported, citing CT Examiner, that Diamantis has collected about $355,000 in pension funds since his arrest in May 2024. An editor's note on the CT News Junkie story said an earlier version used the word "revoked" incorrectly in the headline, and that the Comptroller's office says it lacks statutory authority to revoke a pension but can stop payments.

CT News Junkie reported that Diamantis obtained dual citizenship and a Greek passport while awaiting trial, and that his U.S. passport was being held by U.S. authorities as he was free on a $500,000 bond.

Where sources differ

• Conviction date: CT Examiner describes the jury verdict as coming last October, while CT News Junkie states Diamantis was convicted in October 2025.
• Timing of the Greek passport: CT Examiner reports Diamantis told the court he obtained dual citizenship and a Greek passport in March 2025, while CT News Junkie reports he obtained dual citizenship and the passport 'last year while awaiting trial.'
• Description of the conviction counts: CT Examiner reports a guilty verdict on 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators; CT News Junkie describes multiple counts of extortion, bribery and making false statements.
• Pension action: CT News Junkie reports the Attorney General said he was reviewing legal options to revoke the pension and that state law requires revocation or reduction after corruption convictions, while the Comptroller's office, per the outlet's editor's note, says it lacks authority to revoke a pension and can only stop payments.

• Neither source establishes Diamantis's exact current location or independently confirms he reached Greece; the account of his whereabouts comes from his attorney and from prosecutors' account of flight bookings.
• No source establishes whether Greek authorities have been formally asked to extradite or return Diamantis, or what position Greece has taken; no comment from any Greek official appears.
• No source establishes whether Bahamian or United Kingdom authorities were contacted or are involved.
• Neither source establishes whether Diamantis boarded the London-to-Greece flight or entered Greece, beyond prosecutors' stated belief and his attorney's account of the phone call.
• No source establishes when the next hearing or trial dates will be set beyond the rescheduled Sept. 30 sentencing and the December second trial now described as in limbo.
• No source establishes the current status or likely outcome of Diamantis's pardon application beyond the Office of the Pardon Attorney saying no action has been taken.
• No source establishes the total value of pension payments Diamantis may continue to seek, or the outcome of the state's legal review of the pension issue.
• No source establishes whether Diamantis was subject to any travel restrictions or monitoring conditions at the time of his departure.

1. CT Examiner — original — by Dave Altimari
2. CT News Junkie — by Viktoria Sundqvist

Read the original at CT Examiner

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