<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A former Connecticut deputy budget director, Konstantinos Diamantis, 70, who was convicted on 21 federal charges related to bribery and extortion, fled to Greece before his sentencing hearing on Thursday, according to his lawyer and prosecutors.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Diamantis escaped the country prior to facing a potential prison sentence of 10 to 12 years as requested by the prosecution. He was accused of extorting private contractors for bribes between 2018 and 2021 in exchange for assisting the companies in retaining and obtaining work on school construction contracts. Allegedly, if he was not compensated, Diamantis threatened to terminate the contracts.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The defendant has maintained his innocence and accused Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont of weaponizing the justice system against him.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The injustice that has occurred to me and my family by political weaponization is beyond rational belief,” Diamantis wrote in an email provided to news outlets by defense attorney Norman Pattis. “I have lost everything that took me an entire lifetime to earn and more. It is devastating to lose your home, your children’s home, your car, your job, the ability to get a job, your law license, your honor, your dignity and pride.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Diamantis alleged that Lamont abused the “power of his office and his powerful friendship with President Biden to create an insular system of justice” to protect the governor’s own wrongdoing.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the email, Diamantis called on President Donald Trump and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington to review his case. He is also facing another federal case in which he is accused of taking bribes to suppress a state audit of an eye doctor who allegedly engaged in Medicaid fraud.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is unclear exactly when Diamantis fled to Greece, but prosecutors stated that he first traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas and then boarded a flight to England. The dual U.S.-Greek citizen obtained a Greek passport after surrendering his U.S. passport.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Greece does not permit the extradition of its own nationals to countries outside the European Union, making it unlikely that the United States can legally compel his return to face justice.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Governor Lamont and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong condemned Diamantis’s departure before his sentencing date.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Kosta Diamantis betrayed the public’s trust and needs to be held accountable for his actions,” Lamont stated. “His repeated efforts to skirt justice are shameful. I hope he is apprehended and made to face the music as soon as possible.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“His disappearance this morning is a shameful insult to every person in Connecticut and will not deter our efforts to fully protect the state’s interest and taxpayer dollars,” Tong added. Officials have taken measures to halt the 70-year-old’s state pension payments.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A new sentencing date has been postponed to September 30, regardless of Diamantis’s presence. U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, is presiding over the sentencing.</p>