The Day – Lamont says he’d fire top prosecutor under investigation if he could

HARTFORD (AP) — Gov. Ned Lamont explained Thursday he would hearth Connecticut’s best prosecutor — if he experienced the authority — for “ethical malfeasance,” a working day just after an impartial report lifted suspicions about the prosecutor’s employing of a point out funds official’s daughter.

The Democratic governor spoke about Main State’s Lawyer Richard Colangelo Jr. throughout an unrelated information meeting.

“When it will come to Colangelo, I really do not employ the service of him, I really don’t hearth him,” Lamont stated. “But if I did, he’d be long gone.”

Colangelo’s attorney, James Glasser, mentioned in a statement Thursday that Colangelo did very little inappropriate when he hired the spending plan official’s daughter in 2020. At the time, Colangelo was lobbying the spending plan business for spend raises for prosecutors in his business office.

“With the gain of hindsight, Mr. Colangelo should have been additional delicate to challenges relating to the physical appearance of a of conflict of desire when building using the services of conclusions,” Glasser said. “Mr. Colangelo is a focused occupation prosecutor who is effectively-regarded by his colleagues, judges and the protection bar. It is definitely unfortunate that his motives are now staying impugned and his steps questioned.”

A message searching for comment from Colangelo was remaining with his spokesperson Thursday. He has denied wrongdoing.

Also Thursday, the chairman of the point out Felony Justice Fee, which has the electric power to use and fireplace chief state’s lawyers, issued a assertion about the investigation and Colangelo.

“The results in the report are very startling and raise profoundly serious inquiries about no matter whether the Chief State’s Legal professional can proceed to discharge the responsibilities of the constitutional business office he holds,” the chairman, Affiliate Connecticut Supreme Court docket Justice Andrew McDonald, wrote.

The commission is inquiring Attorney Normal William Tong’s workplace for suggestions on the because of process that would be essential if it holds a listening to on regardless of whether to take away Colangelo, McDonald mentioned, incorporating no main state’s attorney has at any time been fired.

In his comments, Lamont also stated, “I have zero tolerance for this sort of ethical malfeasance and the deputy of OPM was gone incredibly shortly.”

Lamont referred to the previous deputy secretary of the Place of work of Policy and Management, Konstantinos Diamantis, whose daughter’s choosing by Colangelo in 2020 spurred the independent investigation. The report said Colangelo employed Diamantis’ daughter even though lobbying OPM officers, including Diamantis, for fork out raises for prosecutors in his business.

Diamantis was put on paid out leave in October for what officials referred to as “alleged misconduct,” and he submitted a letter of resignation and retirement the exact working day.

Lamont has referred the factual results of the independent investigation led by former Connecticut U.S. Legal professional Stanley Twardy Jr. to condition ethics officers and the Criminal Justice Fee. The investigation report was produced Wednesday.

Lamont’s business office nevertheless has not produced Twardy’s legal conclusions and recommendations, which were provided verbally, a Lamont spokesperson reported.

Diamantis also has denied executing nearly anything erroneous. A message trying to get remark was remaining for him Thursday.

Diamantis informed The Related Press on Wednesday that Twardy’s investigation discovered no wrongdoing and nothing at all in the report raised red flags about his daughter’s using the services of, noting “the main state’s legal professional can hire by statute and the structure any person he chooses to effectuate his mission. Which is his preference.”

Diamantis reported that although he was at the Office environment of Policy and Management, Colangelo’s requests for fork out raises had been denied on distinct occasions.

Colangelo explained to investigators that pay raises for top rated nonunion prosecutors in his place of work were essential simply because they were being on the verge of earning a lot less than lower-tier unionized prosecutors all around the point out.

“But the simple reality is Mr. Colangelo was inspired only by his fascination in correcting an unbalanced pay scale for the benefit of his staff, the Point out, and the people of Connecticut he did absolutely very little incorrect when striving to correct that past completely wrong,” Glasser stated.

Diamantis’ daughter, Anastasia Diamantis, did not return a concept searching for comment.

Colangelo employed Anastasia Diamantis as an govt assistant in his place of work at a starting up income of $99,000, efficient July 3, 2020. No a single else was interviewed for the career.

Colangelo and Konstantinos Diamantis denied discussing a job for Anastasia Diamantis beforehand, Twardy’s report claimed.

But about a month before Anastasia Diamantis was hired, the report mentioned, Colangelo despatched her father an email that provided descriptions of two work open up in Colangelo’s office environment. Konstantinos Diamantis later forwarded the electronic mail to his daughter. The electronic mail did not consist of any context for creating Konstantinos Diamantis knowledgeable of the work opportunities, the investigation report stated.

“However, the reality that Mr. Diamantis forwarded the e-mail to Anastasia even with no concept in the physique of the e-mail from Mr. Colangelo prompting him to do so indicates that Mr. Colangelo and Mr. Diamantis experienced reviewed a work for Anastasia,” the report says.

The report also found that Colangelo, Konstantinos Diamantis and Anastasia Diamantis gave conflicting statements to specified issues by investigators that “cast question on the integrity of the situation encompassing Anastasia’s using the services of.”

Konstantinos Diamantis is also being investigated by the FBI and a federal grand jury in relationship with hundreds of hundreds of thousands of bucks in state paying out on school development initiatives and enhancements to the condition pier in New London, in accordance to a federal subpoena that was publicly produced on Wednesday. The subpoena is dated Oct. 20, 8 times in advance of Konstantinos Diamantis was put on depart and resigned.

Konstantinos Diamantis, a law firm and former Democratic state consultant, had overseen the state’s school construction funding plan for the previous 6 many years of his condition work.

It’s not apparent from the subpoena what exactly federal authorities are investigating. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s business in Connecticut, which subpoenaed the condition records, declined to comment.

Diamantis declined to remark on the federal investigation Wednesday. He earlier has explained he thought he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.