New London — New London has two ongoing school construction projects totaling more than $160 million and is expecting the state to reimburse 80% of those costs.

The Connecticut Port Authority is managing a $235.5 million project to rehabilitate State Pier into an offshore wind hub in New London that includes a state investment of more than $160 million.

The one thing the two projects have in common is Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, the former deputy secretary in the state Office of Policy and Management who, before his suspension and retirement, led the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review. Diamantis additionally was hand-picked by the state to oversee the State Pier project, presumably to quell lingering doubts about the port authority’s ability to handle such a large project by itself.

News of an FBI investigation into Diamantis has left city and port authority officials with more questions than answers.

Diamantis already was being investigated because of the Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr.’s hiring of Diamantis’ daughter, Anastasia. The state, on the same day it released a report on the findings of its investigation, released a copy of an Oct. 20, 2021, subpoena from the FBI to the state Department of Administrative Services requesting communications dating back to Jan. 1, 2018, involving Diamantis and school construction projects, hazardous materials abatement projects and State Pier infrastructure improvements projects.

Connecticut Port Authority Executive Director John Henshaw and authority board Chairman David Kooris said in an interview Thursday they’re not sure what it means. While the grand jury subpoena was made public, the reason for the investigation is not. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment Thursday about the purpose of the investigation and whether it is connected to the state probe.

Kooris said Diamantis has been involved with the port authority since late in 2019 during the final negotiations for what is known as the Harbor Development Agreement, or HDA.

For the port authority, Kooris said Diamantis had been the point person on the construction project with his team at OPM and DAS and heavily involved in the procurement and construction activities and awarding of contracts.

“We don’t know much about what’s going on,” Kooris said. “When I read the subpoenas, and I read the subsequent documents with the search terms ... it looks to me like of course they’re going to start with as wide a net as possible. I don’t read that as (the Connecticut Port Authority) being a particular focus of the investigation. My position on that is exclusively derived from what I’ve read.”

Henshaw and Kooris said no one from the U.S. Attorney’s Office has contacted the port authority or requested any documents.

Kooris said he doesn’t think there is a need to seek funding assurances from the state, since the $235.5 million from the state and joint venture partners Ørsted and Eversource is in escrow in accounts controlled by the terms of the HDA.

“The money is there. There’s no second guessing that,” Kooris said.

After Diamantis left, Noel Petra, deputy commissioner of DAS, was appointed to lead oversight of the State Pier project.

In an email Thursday, Petra said, “ongoing projects including school construction projects and the State Pier project are continuing at this time and the Department of Administrative Services will fulfill its statutory and legal responsibilities.”

New London Mayor Michael Passero expressed similar confidence that the Diamantis investigation would not hinder ongoing school construction projects.

“I don’t think that’s a concern. I think one way or another the state will honor its commitment to the city for reimbursement costs,” Passero said. “The Kosta scandal shouldn’t affect that process at all.”

Passero also expressed confidence in the State Pier project, saying, “the project is well underway. It’s going to get done. I just hope they can manage the costs.”

“There’s too much at stake for the economic health of southeastern Connecticut, for the state of Connecticut and our private partners in the wind industry,” he added.

Diamantis could not be reached to comment.

In response to a request for comment from the governor’s office, Paul Mounds Jr., chief of staff, issued a statement: "The Lamont administration has and will continue to fully cooperate with federal authorities concerning their investigation. The administration has and will continue to comply fully with the ethics laws of the state because the people of Connecticut deserve transparency and accountability."

State Sen. Cathy Osten said she had “no idea” why the FBI was investigating Diamantis but said oversight of the Connecticut Port Authority has increased over the past year thanks to several bills passed by the legislature. Those bills require stricter reporting requirements to provide a level of transparency sought by legislators.

“That was because of the earlier reports that said nobody was paying attention to what was going on there,” Osten said.

g.smith@theday.com