CONNECTICUT, USA — Federal investigators are focusing on a former top budget official and his role in overseeing construction projects around the state. Since a federal subpoena became public, allegations have come to light that accuses former state official Kosta Diamantis of pressuring or threatening town and city officials to bypass competitive bidding protections and use certain construction companies, specifically in the school construction realm. Hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding are at stake with these projects.
In his first TV interview since the probe came to light, Diamantis spoke one-on-one with FOX61’s Jenn Bernstein for a taping of The Real Story, to answer and react to some of those accusations - one specifically on the building of a Tolland school impacted by the crumbling foundation's problem in 2018.
THIS IS PART 2 OF THE INTERVIEW:
During the segment, Bernstein reads a statement from the Tolland Superintendent of Schools, obtained by Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie, which stated:
“Representatives of the town and the board felt they had no real choice as to CAP and D’Amato because Mr. Diamantis routinely emphasized there would be detrimental effects to the project if Tolland chose contractors or consultants other than CAP or D’Amato…” -Dr. Walter Willett, Tolland Superintendent of Schools.
Bernstein asked Diamantis what his reaction was to it, to which he responded, “not true,” going on to say: “Dr. Willett was certainly under a great deal of pressure with the school, and there was grave concern about how the parents were going to react, and especially knowing the children were going to have to be removed.”
Bernstein also asked Diamantis about the company Construction Advocacy Professionals, who managed the project.
According to the CT Mirror, that company hired Diamantis’ daughter around the same time it was receiving contract work from the state to work on the school. Construction Advocacy Professionals, or CAP, was named in the federal subpoena given to the state.
Bernstein asked, “they ended up hiring your daughter, did you have anything to do with that?” Diamantis responded, “No.”
Diamantis denied any wrongdoing during the segments. He has not been charged with any crimes at this point.
We reached out to the FBI which said it could not comment on the existence of an investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also not comment.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s office has said they will co-operate fully with federal authorities.
Watch the full two-part segment above.
Jenn Bernstein is an anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jbernstein@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
----
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.