Former Connecticut budget official arrested, pleads not guilty to bribery and extortion charges

A former top official in Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office has pleaded not guilty to extortion, bribery, conspiracy and false statement charges. Konstantinos Diamantis appeared in federal court in Hartford on Thursday. Federal authorities allege Diamantis demanded and received thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors when he was in charge of state school construction grants. Diamantis and his lawyer declined to comment while leaving court. He previously has denied any wrongdoing. Authorities also announced that three officials with two contractors pleaded guilty earlier in the week to conspiring to bribe Diamantis in return for his help with school construction contracts.