The witness lists have been finalized and attorneys are preparing for jury selection in a federal criminal case against Konstantinos Diamantis involving alleged extortion, bribery and fraud within Connecticut school construction projects.
Federal prosecutors filed a list in court this week of more than 40 potential witnesses who could testify in the criminal trial of Diamantis, a former state deputy budget director who is accused of using his position overseeing the state’s school building office to solicit bribes from construction contractors.
That witness list includes several current and former members of Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, including Josh Geballe, the former commissioner of the state’s Department of Administrative Services, as well as the state employees who worked under Diamantis at the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review.
The list does not name Melissa McCaw, the former secretary of the Office of Policy and Management who moved Diamantis and the school construction grant program from the Department of Administrative Services to OPM, where he became her deputy commissioner.
When she resigned in February 2022, Lamont and others emphasized that McCaw was leaving voluntarily, not due to the FBI investigation of programs that had been overseen by Diamantis.
The witness list also includes employees from some of the largest construction and architectural firms in Connecticut, including officials from Arcadis, O&G Industries, Downes Construction, Newfield Construction, Construction Solutions Group and D’Amato Construction.
The high-profile criminal trial, which is currently scheduled to begin on Oct. 6, is likely to dredge up a scandal that shook up the Lamont administration in late 2021 and shadowed the Democratic governor as he campaigned for a second term in 2022.
Lamont removed Diamantis from his post as a deputy budget director shortly after the state received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in 2021 seeking information about Diamantis and a host of projects and companies he was involved with. And Diamantis stepped down from his job overseeing the state’s school construction office shortly after.
Even so, people’s opinions about Lamont and his administration could play a key role in the upcoming trial due to Diamantis’ former position within the highest levels of the state government.
Diamantis’ defense attorney, Norm Pattis, has asked the federal judge overseeing the trial to allow him to specifically question the potential jurors about their views on Lamont, who is now serving his second term as governor.
“Of course people’s attitude toward the governor might impact whether they can be on the jury,” Pattis said. “At the center of this case are several senior administrative officials.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the upcoming trial.
Lamont’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the proposed witness list.
Federal prosecutors spent several years investigating Diamantis before he was officially charged in May 2024 with 22 counts of extortion, bribery, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.
The charges leveled against Diamantis in the indictment focused almost exclusively on his interactions with two school construction contractors: Acranom Masonry and Construction Advocacy Professionals. Three executives from those companies — Salvatore Monarca, John Duffy and Antonietta Roy — have already pleaded guilty to bribing Diamantis, and all of them are likely to take the stand in the upcoming trial.
The lengthy witness list, however, shows that the trial could delve into far more than the conversations that took place between Diamantis and those three executives.
The U.S. Attorneys office, for instance, said it could place Diamantis’ daughter, Anastasia, under oath during the trial. According to federal prosecutors, Roy, the owner of Construction Advocacy Professionals, allegedly hired Anastasia Diamantis in return for Kosta Diamantis’ help winning her contracts on school construction projects.
Prosecutors may also call to the witness stand several municipal officials who worked alongside Diamantis. That includes Hartford’s former city engineer, Frank Dellaripa, and Walter Willett, Tolland’s superintendent who publicly accused Diamantis of pressuring town officials to hire specific contractors on the Birch Grove Elementary project.
Meanwhile, Diamantis has announced several prominent witnesses of his own, including former Connecticut State Police Colonel Stavros Mellekas, former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and Hartford’s former school superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodríguez.
Pattis said Diamantis is looking forward to the two-week trial and clearing his name.
“Mr. Diamantis has been held hostage by these accusations for a long time,” Pattis said. “The relationships in Hartford are a smoldering dung heap, and we are looking forward to shedding some sunlight and disinfectant on how the state does business.”