A federal magistrate ruled Thursday that Norm Pattis could withdraw as the attorney for Konstantinos Diamantis, who owes $65,000 in legal fees — but just moments after that order was issued, Pattis acceded to another judge’s request that he stay on at a lower rate.
U.S. District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill, who is the presiding judge for Diamantis’ upcoming federal trial on corruption charges, suggested that Pattis continue to represent Diamantis at a public defender’s rate.
“If you are asking, then I will do it,” Pattis told the judge during the hearing, which took place Thursday evening on Zoom.
Underhill then said he was going to delay the trial until at least April.
Jury selection for Diamantis’ second corruption trial was supposed to begin on Jan. 30, but Pattis told prosecutors and Underhill that a murder trial that he started this week in New London would not be done by then, and prosecutors said they are preparing for another trial scheduled for March.
Diamantis was found guilty by a jury in October of 21 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators in his role as head of the state school construction grants office. He remains free on a $500,000 bond.
Diamantis, Connecticut’s former deputy budget director and a former state legislator, was convicted of using his position overseeing the state’s school construction office to enrich himself and his family by accepting bribes from contractors on school projects in Hartford and Tolland.
Underhill delayed sentencing on that case until after the second trial, where he faces charges related to a Medicaid fraud scheme. Diamantis faces up to 12 years in prison for his October convictions.
Pattis had asked to be removed as Diamantis’ attorney last month, claiming that his client owed him at least $65,000, according to court records. Pattis and Diamantis appeared at a closed-door hearing before the U.S. Magistrate S. Dave Vatti last month to present their cases.
Vatti issued an eight-page ruling late Thursday afternoon just minutes before Underhill’s scheduled status conference with Pattis and federal prosecutors.
“Diamantis’ failure to fulfill the $65,000 payment obligation is substantial under the circumstances,” Vatti wrote.
“He (Diamantis) objects that he has already paid nearly 75% of the total $250,000 fee and he argues that it is not uncommon for courts to deny requests to withdraw as criminal defense counsel where significant fees have already been paid, the client appears unable to make further payments, and substitute counsel would need time to catch up.”
But Vatti ruled Pattis was “not an indentured servant,” and forcing him to in effect represent Diamantis at a second trial for free was unfair.
Diamantis is facing bribery, extortion and filing false statement charges in the next trial, which centers around a $600,000 payment that Diamantis helped hand-deliver to another state agency to get a Medicaid audit of a Bristol eye doctor canceled.
It was during the height of COVID, in May 2020, when Diamantis and Christopher Ziogas, also a former state representative, hand-delivered a check for nearly $600,000 to the state Department of Social Services in order to reimburse the state Medicaid program for services that the eye doctor Helen Zervas — Ziogas’ fiancée — improperly billed.
After that check was delivered to the Department of Social Services office in Hartford, the audit into Zervas’ optometry practice was dropped, which prevented state auditors from combing through her records and potentially clawing back even more money for the state.
The CT Mirror reported that the audit of Bristol Eye Care was the only one that DSS canceled over a five-year period.
Diamantis and Ziogas previously told the CT Mirror that there was nothing illegal about the $600,000 payment, and they said their involvement had nothing to do with the agency ending the scheduled audit of Zervas’ practice.
But in November, Ziogas pleaded guilty to extortion and bribery charges for his part in pressuring state employees to cancel the audit. He admitted in court that he helped Zervas pay Diamantis $100,000 to help stifle the audit.
Ziogas is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 18. Under the plea agreement, he is facing 70 to 87 months in prison. Zervas also pleaded guilty, although a sentencing date has not yet been set.
While their plea agreements do not indicate that they must testify against Diamantis at his trial, Pattis has said he expects both of them will be witnesses for the government.