Creative Commons License

Gov. Ned Lamont is pictured in Hartford before a press conference on July 14, 2025. Credit: Dana Edwards / CT Mirror

This story has been updated.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont could be called as a witness in the upcoming criminal trial of former state deputy budget director Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, who is accused of soliciting bribes and gifts from construction contractors hired to build schools throughout the state. 

Diamantis’ attorney, Norm Pattis, filed a motion to add Lamont’s name to the witness list on Thursday. 

Pattis and federal prosecutors are scheduled to select a jury on Friday morning, and testimony is expected to begin on Monday, despite the current federal government shutdown. 

The motion to add Lamont as a witness does not guarantee that he will be called to testify. Federal prosecutors could object to the governor being added as a witness so close to trial or ask the judge to rule whether he is relevant. 

Lamont also could file a motion to quash the subpoena.

Kosta Diamantis, right, and his attorney Norm Pattis exit the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport on Feb. 28, 2025. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

Rob Blanchard, Lamont’s spokesperson, declined to comment on motion to make Lamont a witness. The CT Mirror couldn’t get a response from the U.S. Attorney’s Office due to the shutdown.

The addition of Lamont — a sitting two-term Democratic governor — to the witness list would add an additional dose of political intrigue to the trial. Diamantis faces 22 federal counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.

It’s unclear what questions Pattis intends to ask the governor or what information he might provide that is relevant to the criminal trial. 

During Lamont’s first term as governor, Diamantis climbed to some of the highest ranks of the state government, becoming a deputy director in the state Office of Policy and Management, where he oversaw the state’s school construction program and a host of other projects, including the redevelopment of the State Pier in New London. 

Lamont fired Diamantis from that position, however, in October 2021 and opened an investigation into how Diamantis’ daughter obtained a high-paying secretarial job at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. 

[The Kosta Diamantis timeline: What you need to know]

Diamantis subsequently resigned from his other position leading the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review. 

Around the same time, Lamont’s administration received its first subpoena from federal prosecutors seeking a litany of documents and information about Diamantis and a host of contractors and public building projects that he oversaw. 

Diamantis responded to his firing by filing a grievance over his termination and alleging that members of Lamont’s administration mistreated his former boss, OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw.

That grievance was eventually dismissed. 

Pattis said Diamantis is also expected to take the witness stand to testify in his own defense during the trial.

“Wild horses couldn’t keep Kosta away from testifying in this case. He has been waiting to tell his story for more than two years,” Pattis told the CT Mirror this week.

Despite that statement, Pattis also filed a motion on Thursday to delay the trial because of the federal shutdown, arguing that they won’t be able to pick a fair and impartial jury.

“Reasonable jurors could wonder whether this trial will go forward. Indeed, the defendant is concerned that summoned jurors may conclude that their service in this case is not required, given the shutdown and simply fail to appear,” Pattis wrote.

The judge quickly denied that motion and ordered the trial to proceed as previously scheduled.

Federal prosecutors accused Diamantis last year of soliciting bribes from a pair of contractors in return for those companies receiving lucrative deals to build several local schools. 

In court records, the U.S. Attorney’s office cited numerous text messages in which Diamantis allegedly demanded money from contractors and threatened to boot them from the construction projects if they didn’t pay up.

Some of the crimes that Diamantis is accused of committing took place prior to 2019, when Lamont assumed office and promoted Diamantis to his post in the Office of Policy and Management. 

But Lamont and his administration were always going to be part of the backdrop for the political corruption trial. 

Pattis previously asked U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill, who is overseeing the trial, to allow him to question potential jurors about their views on Lamont, who is expected to announce a bid for a third term. 

Several other former members of Lamont’s administration, including Josh Geballe, the former Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, were also included on an extended list of potential witnesses for the trial.

Andrew joined CT Mirror as an investigative reporter in July 2021. Since that time, he's written stories about a state lawmaker who stole $1.2 million in pandemic relief funds, the state Treasurer's failure to return millions of dollars in unclaimed money to Connecticut citizens and an absentee ballot scandal that resulted in a judge tossing out the results of Bridgeport's 2023 Democratic mayoral primary. Prior to moving to Connecticut, Andrew was a reporter at local newspapers in North Dakota, West Virginia and South Carolina. His work focuses primarily on uncovering government corruption but over the course of his career, he has also written stories about the environment, the country's ongoing opioid epidemic and state and local governments. Do you have a story tip? Reach Andrew at 843-592-9958

Dave does in-depth investigative reporting for CT Mirror. His work focuses on government accountability including financial oversight, abuse of power, corruption, safety monitoring, and compliance with law. Before joining CT Mirror Altimari spent 23 years at the Hartford Courant breaking some of the state’s biggest, most impactful investigative stories.