Federal grand jury looking into State Pier, school projects
New London — A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena
for documents involving Kostantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, the former head of state
school construction project grants who was picked a year ago by Gov. Ned Lamont
to oversee the Connecticut Port Authority’s State Pier project.
The subpoena was issued on Oct. 20, shortly before Diamantis
was placed on leave from his position as deputy secretary in the Office of
Police and Management during probe of the hiring of his daughter
Anastasia for a state position in the Division of Criminal Justice.
Diamantis had been both the deputy secretary of the OPM and
director of the Office of School Construction Grants and Review and had been
involved in the approval process of New London’s $150 million school
construction budget. He retired following his suspension.
The subpoena, obtained by The Day on Wednesday as part of a
Freedom of Information Act request, reveals that the FBI requested all
electronic communications starting from Jan. 1, 2018, involving Diamantis and
“(1) the planning, bidding, awarding, and implementation (including the
construction process) of school construction projects; (2) the planning,
bidding, awarding and implementation of hazardous materials abatement projects;
and (3) the Connecticut State Pier infrastructure improvements project.”
A grand jury subpoena is used by the federal government to
gather evidence as part of an investigation. The focus of the investigation
remains unclear.
Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie first
raised questions on Oct. 1 about Chief State's Attorney Richard
Colangelo Jr.'s hiring of Anastasia Diamantis, at the same time Colangelo
was petitioning Anastasia's father and other officials for
raises for himself and other prosecutors.
The report from a separate independent ethics
investigation of Colangelo, Diamantis and his daughter, which the state
released Wednesday, said the three gave conflicting accounts to
investigators that “cast doubt on the integrity of the circumstances
surrounding Anastasia's hiring,” the Associated
Press reported. Colangelo denied there was an improper motive, but the
report said “multiple (Criminal Justice) Division officials confirmed
expressing concerns to Mr. Colangelo in June 2020 that the Division's hiring of
Anastasia created at least an appearance of a conflict.”
Former Connecticut U.S. Attorney Stanley A. Twardy Jr. was
commissioned by the governor’s office to examine whether Colangelo’s hiring of
Anastasia violated state ethics rules, the Connecticut Mirror reported Wednesday,
but neither his inquiry nor his report dealt with the construction projects
under review by the FBI.
At the time that Anatasia Diamantis was hired by Colangelo,
she had a second job working for Construction Advocacy Professionals, a school
construction management company, the CT Mirror first reported on Dec.
3. That position was not on her resume but was referenced in emails she
wrote that were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the Mirror
reported.
Colangelo had told the Mirror in an interview that he was
aware of Anastasia’s outside employment, but he and Anastasia gave conflicting
accounts to Twardy regarding whether she disclosed it. When asked if he was
aware of allegations by a "former CAP employee that Anastasia was a 'ghost
employee' at CAP to bribe Mr. Diamantis in his then position as Deputy OPM
Secretary, Mr. Colangelo stated he had no knowledge of those allegations at
that time," Twardy wrote. "He stated that had he been aware of those
allegations at that time, he might have followed up with Anastasia concerning her
then concurrent part-time employment with CAP."
Colangelo's office said he was reviewing the report before
he would comment, the Mirror and other news sites reported.
In a follow-up request to the state Department of
Administrative Services, documents show federal authorities on Oct. 28
requested that DAS prioritize keywords in its search for responsive documents.
Those keywords did not include State Pier or the Connecticut Port Authority.
They did include: Anastasia, Daughter, Antonietta, DiBenedetto-Roy, DiBenedetto,
Roy, "Construction Advocacy Professionals" or "CAP" (all
capitals), Capyourbudget.com, FBI, Gift, Wedding, Guiliano, Ouellette and other
names.
With Diamantis gone, the Connecticut Port Authority in
December introduced Noel Petra, deputy commissioner of the state Department of
Administrative Services, as the person to lead oversight of the State Pier
project.
In October 2019 the authority entered into a memorandum of
agreement with the Office of Policy and Management and Department of
Administrative Services for management and support services relating to the
project’s construction and procurement activities.
STAMFORD — Less than a day after an
outdoor patio collapsed at one of its Harbor Point buildings,
Stamford’s biggest developer said it would launch new building inspections at
some of its high rises.
Building management at the Allure — a luxury apartment
complex built in 2017 by Building and Land Technology — told residents Tuesday
afternoon that part of a fifth-floor outdoor terrace collapsed over part of its
garage. City fire and building officials have ruled the area structurally sound
and safe for residents.
The company later announced that “no one was injured and no
property was damaged.”
BLT told residents in an email that the construction and
engineering teams on site ruled called the collapse “an isolated incident.”
But in the wake of the collapse, the company told The
Stamford Advocate that it would take a critical look at some of its properties.
“As the safety, health and wellbeing of our residents is
always our top priority, we plan to ensure this remains an isolated incident by
further inspecting our properties,” a BLT spokesperson said.
Though the company emphasized Allure’s structural integrity,
there are still questions on what caused the accident.
“BLT engineers and city building officials are investigating
the root cause of this incident and then setting a timetable for remedial
work,” BLT said in its statement. The city confirmed that it will “conduct
visual inspections of other similar locations” throughout the city.
“The City expects full cooperation with that effort,”
mayoral spokeswoman Lauren Meyer wrote Wednesday night in a press release.
Regardless of reassurances from the city and BLT, some
residents found themselves filled with concerns over the collapse. Maris Cohen,
who moved to the Allure in July 2020 from New York City, said she’s uneasy with
how little information she currently has on the accident.
“It could be that it really is structurally sound, but this
building was built like two years ago,” she said shortly after the incident.
Cohen and other Allure tenants lamented on social media that
they knew little about what had happened and expressed serious concerns about
the future of the building.
DANBURY — Negotiations between the city and the developers
of the Summit have hit a snag when it comes to the proposed career academy that
has put into jeopardy the future site of the $144.5 million school.
Mayor Dean Esposito terminated negotiations between the city
and developers a few days ago, disagreeing with some terms, he said. The two
sides are expected to meet Thursday, however, to see if they can move forward
with an agreement.
“My goal right now is to open up negotiations again with (SC
Ridge LLC) and hopefully come to a better agreement,” Mayor Dean Esposito said.
“The terms we met with and they had were unacceptable to us.”
At the crux of the negotiations is
the city’s purchase of three pods in the 1.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use
building on the west side to build a school serving 1,400 middle and high
school students. Danbury and the developers have worked closely on the project,
which is meant to address rapid
student enrollment increases.
The negotiations trouble comes days after word the estimated
cost of the project has increased
46 percent to $144.5 million. City officials hope a state grant will
cover 80 percent of the cost. The Zoning Commission last week approved a
master plan for the Summit that included the academy and reduced the number of
apartments.
Mike Basile, the Summit’s project manager, confirmed his
group is scheduled to meet with the city on Thursday.
“We are hopeful that we can come to terms,” he said in a
text message.
The uncertainty, however, led Superintendent Kevin Walston
to email school board members on Wednesday evening to tell them the
negotiations had “collapsed” and the city couldn’t proceed with construction of
the school at the Summit site.
“To be clear, the Career Academy is still moving forward,”
he wrote. “This setback only affects the location on which our students and
teachers will sit.”
He said district leadership has begun internal discussions
about alternative construction locations and will proceed with the concept the
board approved.
“I personally took this news very hard as this academy has
been a deeply personal project for me and my leadership team, who was invested
in it since its conception,” Walston said. “But due to the nature of the
circumstances, we commend the city for acting with integrity and understand the
need to change course.”
Negotiation breakdown
Anthony Rizzo, Jr, owner of Rizzo Corp., construction
contractor for the Summit, hopes a deal could be reached within a couple weeks,
if not sooner.
“From everything I see, I believe both parties want to get
it done,” he said.
The parties started negotiations a few weeks ago and had
come to a “nice agreement we were all in favor of,” Esposito said. Three items
related to the career academy and negotiations were placed on the agenda for
City Council’s Tuesday meeting.
“It was an agreement that we both liked,” Esposito said.
“The price was right and the terms were right. I do believe that we can come back
to the table and get closer to what we were looking at that day.”
The day after, the Summit returned with new concessions, and
Esposito said he made the “really tough” decision to walk away to pursue other
options for the schools.
Danbury could build the academy on city-owned or privately
owned property if plans for the Summit fall through, Esposito said.
“The two new locations are doable as far as price, as well,”
he said.
Under one option, the city would build an addition onto the
Broadview Middle School campus and construct a free-standing building near
Danbury High School. The career academy curriculum the school district has been
creating would be at the “forefront” of those schools, Esposito said.
This could be potentially less expensive than the existing
plan because it’s city-owned property, he said.
With a more “extreme” option, the school would be built
partially with an existing building a privately owned property, he said. He
declined to go into details.
He said the school could still open in fall 2024 as planned
“if we expedite the process.”
Confusion
Esposito’s withdrawal of the items on the council’s agenda
sparked confusion on Tuesday and Wednesday with not all city leaders entirely
sure the status of negotiations, nor the future of the project.
Democratiac Councilman Duane Perkins said he’d like the city
to communicate the status of the project.
“That may go a long way in helping to calm some nerves and
give some assurance that the project is moving forward,” he said Wednesday.
Vinny DiGilio, City Council president, said the items were
withdrawn from the agenda because “it was just not ready for the action to be
taken.”
“I very much know it’s a priority for the mayor,” he said.
“The mayor is quite an open-minded person, but he’s representing the students
and the taxpayers of Danbury to make sure all the aspects of the negotiations
and the deal and the proposal are mutually beneficial.”
Democratic Councilman Ben Chianese didn’t know the status of
the negotiations on Wednesday, but was part of a group touring the Summit with
developers last week.
“It was all positive,” he said. “They wanted to see this
done. They were eager to get it going. They didn’t want to see any delays.”
Cost increase
Danbury again will need to seek legislation to receive state
funding due to the expected increased cost.
Connecticut’s Office of School Construction Grants has been
considering Danbury’s grant application through a pilot program created
through state
legislation, rather than the typical process. This is because, unlike other
school construction projects, the school would be built from an existing
commercial building and on private property.
“As you know, the project price changed dramatically due to
external factors (inflation, supply chain, and construction costs) which has
affected the entire process and it is now up to the municipality to pursue this
through the legislation,” John McKay, spokesman with the Department of
Administrative Services, said in a statement. “OSCGR [Office of School
Construction Grants] is giving Danbury as much assistance as possible to
facilitate their school needs and we look forward to working with them.”
State Rep. Ken Gucker, D-Danbury, told the council Tuesday
night that he’d do everything he could to ensure the state funds the project.
“How we go forward is we do the best for our students,” he
said. “We do our best to support public education that will help all kids, we
support our teachers, we make sure this project goes forward.”
Gucker said the mayor told him a couple weeks ago the city
would need the delegation’s support due to rising costs for the academy, but
Gucker didn’t realize the increase was so significant until he saw the council
agenda on Monday.
In its school construction grants, Connecticut typically
covers 80 percent of “eligible” costs, but Gucker said he’s heard the state
would reimburse the city a “straight” 80 percent.
The increase is “substantial,” but the cost to the city
would only be roughly $9 million more if the state covers 80 percent of the
cost, DiGilio said.
“At first glance it’s shock and awe with such a large
increase — 46 percent, I think is what I noticed — but when you really break it
down, it’s much more palatable and in the total project perspective, not too
bad.”
Warren Levy, the council’s Republican majority leader, said
the increase “hurts” but is understandable given costs are rising elsewhere.
“We all know that we’ve seen the expenses go up in our
grocery bill, certainly on the gas in our car and the interruptions in the
supply chain has caused shortages, which has driven costs up,” he said.
But Perkins questioned the extent COVID factors played in
the cost increase.
“It just seemed a little unusual, even if you factor in
COVID and inflation and worldwide logistic problems,” he said. “It just seems a
little exorbitant.”
In his letter to the council, the mayor had said the design
drawings and educational needs were among the factors.
State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said she’ll push for
the grant approval. She sees the career academy as a model for the state and
nation. The school would allow students at the academy and Danbury High School
to study various career pathways.
“I’m still very committed to the career academy,” she said.
“It’s going to be great for Danbury. The thing I love about the career pathways
and the career academy and the whole approach is it’s not going to be just for
a segment of kids. It’s going to be for all of Danbury.”
DANBURY — Blueprints for the biggest development of
apartments and commerce in the city have prompted concerns about safety,
circulation, and environmental impact as the 1.3 million-square-foot project
faces its first public hearing.
“[O]n the potential problem of emergency access should an
emergency along or within the main access drive prevent access to any part of
the development … (t)he issue of public safety is a serious concern that
requires mitigation,” said Jennifer Emminger, Danbury’s deputy planning
director, in a lengthy 10-page notice to the developer of WestConn
Park on Mill Plain Road. “[A] second means of access must be
provided.”
Emminger is referring an 11-building proposal by Danbury
developer Albert Salome for apartments, offices, stores and assisted-living
facility on 31 acres in the heart of the booming west side. The project, which
would include a bank, a restaurant, a coffee house and retail shops along Mill
Plain Road, would require 1,000 parking spaces and attract 650 more vehicles
during rush hour on the already congested stretch between the Stop & Shop
and Amity Lane.
Traffic promised to be a focus during the first public hearing about
the proposal by the city’s Planning Commission on Wednesday.
The developer’s traffic consultant estimates that the level
of service at the nearest intersections with traffic lights would “degrade”
from a current rating of “C” to a rating of “D” in 2025 if WestConn Park is
developed as planned.
If “D” sounds like a bad rating, it is, according to the
developer’s traffic consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, of Wethersfield.
“Similar to a report card, (level of service) designations
are letter based, ranging from A to F, with A representing the best operating
condition (lowest vehicle delays) and F representing the worst operating
condition (highest vehicle delays), VHB said in a 200-page report submitted to
the city’s Planning Department.
Salame’s proposal for a mostly undeveloped landscape south
of Western Connecticut State University’s west side campus and west of a
residential neighborhood calls for 200 apartments in three four-story
buildings, a 90-bed assisted living facility, a 50,000-square-foot office
building with a garage, a two-story retail and office building, a bank with a
drive-thru window, a 100-seat restaurant, a 30,000-square-foot building with
shops, and a coffee house.
To make all those elements work, a narrow private road on
the western border of the property called Amity Lane would be widened,
extended, and fitted with traffic lights.
The property is the same location that Salame was marketing
in 2005 as a science
park.
WestConn Park is the largest and latest development on the
west side of Danbury, which continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities
in the state.
One mile west of the WestConn Park proposal, construction is
underway on a 45,000-square-foot Caraluzzi’s
Market and liquor store, for example. Further west and south, near the
New York border, redevelopment is underway at the 1.2 million-square-foot
office park known as the Summit, where the city hopes to build the first
condominium-style high school and middle school in Connecticut.
Unlike the Summit, which last week had revisions to
its master
plan approved, Salame and WestConn Park are just beginning land use review.
Safety is at the top of Danbury’s concerns, particularly
with last week’s winter storm still fresh in officials’ minds.
“The (Planning) Department is concerned about whether the
project site can adequately and safely operate during inclement weather
conditions,” Emminger said. “The applicant must provide a plan that addresses
snow removal or winter maintenance on the site.”
Among the two-dozen issues Emminger raised in her notice to
the developer were requests for more information about blasting, about how
retaining walls as high as 50 feet would be constructed, and about rights the
developer is yet to secure from neighboring property owners to make the site’s
infrastructure work.
In addition, Emminger and other city officials want the
developer to build sidewalks — not only on Mill Plain Road but within WestConn
Park itself.
“The absence of connecting sidewalks within the development
promotes and encourages auto dependency as the primary means of access, rather
than walking or bicycling,” Emminger said. “Residents would be required to walk
along the edge of the main access drive if they wish to visit any of the
commercial business within the development. Additionally, the lack of sidewalks
provides little-to-no options for residents and school age children who require
access to school bus or public transportation along Mill Plain Road.”