It began with a column in the Courant revealing a patronage appointment for the daughter of influential state budget officer Konstantinos Diamantis. Then, last month news broke that a federal grand jury is investigating three costly state spending programs. Now, the emerging scandal threatens to become political ammunition as Gov. Ned Lamont heads into a re-election campaign.
Enlisting the help of contractors and his former boss at the state Department of Administrative Services, Konstantinos Diamantis mounted a fast and furious defense in the summer of 2020 against an accusatory memo produced by the building trade unions ahead of a meeting with Gov. Ned Lamont.
The unsigned memo accused Diamantis of using “fear mongering and threats” to engineer an emergency declaration that fast-tracked the replacement of a structurally unsound school.