Greece, but no release: Kosta Diamantis sentenced to 7 years after deal to return collapses
A federal judge sentenced Gov. Ned Lamont's former budget deputy in his absence. Prosecutors said Diamantis skipped out on a deal to return to the U.S. for his bribery sentencing.
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Kosta Diamantis almost came home to face the music.
Prosecutors said the former state budget deputy-turned-international fugitive booked a flight home from Greece, where he is in hiding, to be sentenced for corruption.
But in another dramatic twist, he backed out at the last minute.
In his absence, a federal judge sentenced Diamantis to seven years in prison on Wednesday – far less than the 12 years he could have faced.
“DAILY NEGOTATIONS” TO RETURN
Diamantis’ escape was straight out of a Hollywood script.
Prosecutors said he drove Florida, hopped a boat to The Bahamas and flew to London – using a Greek passport that he wasn’t supposed to have – to avoid being sentenced for 21 counts of bribery and extortion. Last fall, a jury convicted Diamantis of shaking down contractors for multimillion-dollar school construction jobs.
The FBI has been negotiating with Diamantis to return on his own, even arranging for an escort to meet him at the airport in Athens on Tuesday, prosecutors revealed in court.
“The flight was to have left at about 3:30, I believe, Greek time, sometime in the morning,” his attorney, Norm Pattis, told reporters. “There were daily negotiations, since the day after the flight, of Mr. Diamantis’ options. I don’t believe I was being played. I don’t believe that the government was being played.”
Diamantis has been hiding in plain sight, offering phone interviews to numerous reporters. Pattis said that he and the FBI know which town Diamantis is in, but he declined to reveal it on Wednesday.
“He could have come back yesterday,” said a visibly frustrated Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis. “Everything was paid for. Everything was ready.”
SEVEN-YEAR SENTENCE
U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill did not add time to Diamantis’ sentence for fleeing.
“I was tempted to do that, but I don’t think that would be fair,” he said. “The sentence in this case does need to have a deterrent effect.”
Although Diamantis was 5,000 miles away, his voice was heard. In a defiant statement that Pattis read to the court, the fugitive slammed his trial as “political weaponization" based on “a twisted interpretation of dynamics between family and friends.”
Underhill was unmoved.
“He can complain all he wants about the prosecution,” the judge said. “But those claims, in my view, fall flat.”
CAN U.S. GET HIM BACK?
Diamantis’ audience could be President Donald Trump, who can offer him a pardon, or Greek authorities, who typically do not extradite their own citizens.
That largely rests on when Diamantis obtained Greek citizenship, according to legal experts.
“The nationality bar applies only in cases where the individual had acquired the Greek citizenship before the commission of the offense,” veteran extradition attorney Ilias Anagnostopoulos told News 12. “So it wouldn't help for someone to become Greek afterwards, yeah? Only for offenses he will commit in the future.”
Diamantis’ lawyer believes he obtained citizenship at birth.
“He says he did,” Pattis said. “His parents registered it when he was a child.”
EXPENSIVE CRIMES
Regardless of whether he spends a day in jail, Diamantis’ crimes will cost him dearly. He will lose his home and belongings on Friday after the judge revoked his $1 million bond.
“The children will be permitted to come and go as they will until 9 a.m. Friday to retrieve their personal belongings,” Pattis said. “At 9 a.m. Friday, title to the home will vest in the United States government and they will own it.”
The money could go to pay off Diamantis' victims; the town of Tolland says it is owed $80,000 for cost overruns.
But how much victims will actually get is an open question.
“There’s an argument that there’s nothing left for the government to take,” Pattis said. “The bank places a value of roughly $600,000 on the home. There are $450,000 in encumbrances in the form of a first mortgage and a line of credit. so that leaves an arguable 150 [thousand].”
Shortly after the sentencing, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong asked a judge to revoke Diamantis’ $75,000 a year pension.
“Because of his arrogant and brazen misconduct, the State of Connecticut is now asking the court to find that he forfeited his right to receive a taxpayer-funded pension,” Tong said in a statement. “We will go after him with the full force of the law to revoke his pension and do our part to see that he is brought to justice here in Connecticut.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
U.S. Marshals are working with Greek authorities to extradite Diamantis.
“The government will use all available means to force the defendant to return to the United States,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Novick.
If he doesn’t return, Diamantis may forfeit his right to appeal his conviction under the Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine. He also faces a second bribery trial in December, which could go on without him.
“All options are on the table for the next case,” Francis said.
