Guilty on all counts.

That's the verdict for Kosta Diamantis, Gov. Ned Lamont's former budget deputy who spent nine days on trial for bribery, extortion, conspiracy and lying to the FBI.

Contractors accused Diamantis of shaking them down for bribes in exchange for multimillion-dollar school construction jobs.

Diamantis sat stoically as U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill read each guilty verdict. He now faces up to 20 years in prison.

"It was a clean sweep. I thought it was going to go my way, but obviously it didn't," Diamantis said outside the courtroom. "This is not over. I stand by my testimony."

Diamantis' attorney promised an appeal but also acknowledged the gravity of the convictions.

"Mr. Diamantis is facing a catastrophic sentence," said defense attorney Norm Pattis. "He'll be lucky to get out of this with less than 10 to 12 years."

If you wanted to build a school, you had to go through Diamantis. As head of the Connecticut's Office of School Construction Grants and Review (OSCGR) from 2018 to 2021, he oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in state grants.

But those lucrative contracts came at a cost.

Three contractors testified that Diamantis demanded bribes in exchange for school construction jobs. School officials and project managers said he pressured them to hire those companies.

"Without Kosta's involvement or influence, we probably wouldn't have got that job," Acranom Masonry's former vice president, John Duffy, told jurors.

Diamantis claimed the payments were for legal work and "referral" fees outside the scope of his job.

"If you're asking me, would I do it again? No, I wouldn't," he told reporters on Monday. "Did what I do was illegal? The answer is, absolutely not. Entering into a referral agreement was not illegal and that's what I did."

But jurors didn't buy Diamantis' story.

"There wasn't enough evidence to support that those were consulting fees," said jury foreperson Nkong A. Tankeng. "He definitely said there were legal fees. But there wasn't anything to support that stance."

Diamantis' own words turned out to be his worst enemy.

Jurors heard a voice mail where he told Duffy, "I didn't ask for the maximum – I asked for the minimum – of what we bid. So that's more that reasonable. Even less than that; I asked for 40." Prosecutors also showed dozens of text messages where Diamantis wrote things like, "I am very good at what I do … And I always usually work at 5% of total just FYI."

"People like to talk a lot from text messages," Tankeng said. "Like, it's a lot."

Tankeng also said that Diamantis' decision to take the witness stand backfired.

"As people are testifying, his body language – the smirking – even on the stand," she said outside the courthouse.

Diamantis isn't just facing prison time; he may also lose his sizable state pension. Under state law, once Diamantis is sentenced, Attorney General William Tong must ask a civil court judge to reduce or revoke his pension.

"Kosta Diamantis abused the public trust and will be held accountable," Tong said in a statement. "We are monitoring the criminal proceeding closely and are actively considering all options to fully protect the state's interests and taxpayer dollars."

One winner in this trial – at least for now – is Lamont. Although Diamantis was a top budget official in his office, the governor did not have to testify.

"After immediately firing Kosta in 2021, I ordered actionable steps be swiftly taken to ensure this can never happen again," Lamont said in a statement. "After returning school construction oversight back to the Department of Administrative Services, several proactive steps were taken to ensure accountability and restore public trust in the administration of school construction grants. These reforms have significantly reduced risk, improved accountability and helped rebuild trust. My administration will continue to work to close gaps, improve oversight and uphold the highest ethical standards across all state operations."

Lamont's former budget secretary, Melissa McCaw, resigned amid the scandal. At her urging, the governor moved school construction to his budget office from DAS, where grants received more scrutiny. A year before the FBI investigation, in 2020, a Stamford demolition company warned the Lamont administration of "an effort to circumvent the lawful public bidding requirements."

On Monday, Diamantis maintained that Lamont pressured him to get school construction costs down any way possible.

"We did have discussions. He wanted me to bring it down," Diamantis said. "But unfortunately, he's not here to defend himself. And he doesn't recall."

The governor may not get so lucky in February.

That's when Diamantis faces a second bribery trial where he is accused of accepting $95,000 in bribes to quash a Medicaid fraud investigation. McCaw and Dr. Deidre Gifford, Lamont's former social services commissioner, are both expected to take the witness stand. Gifford retired after emails surfaced detailing her possible involvement in canceling the audit.

As Lamont weighs a likely reelection bid in 2026, Republicans are seizing on the publicity.

"From Diamantis, to the State Pier debacle, to the CSCU Chancellor Cheng scandal to the unvetted nonprofit 'candy store' grants: the disrespect for taxpayers' money is widespread in Connecticut state government," said state Senate GOP leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield). "We view it as a creeping culture of corruption. It's mismanagement. A lack of oversight and accountability."

Other Republicans agreed.

"Unfortunately, this is just the latest chapter of someone abusing a position of authority for base personal gain," said Connecticut House Minority leader Vin Candelora (R-North Branford). "Given the recent developments and public disclosures of grand jury activity, and ongoing federal investigations, it is surely not likely to be the last."

Diamantis will remain free on bond until his sentencing on Jan. 14, 2026 – just weeks before his second trial begins.

In the meantime, he will have to hand over his Greek passport.

Diamantis recently obtained Greek citizenship. He told Underhill it was only to claim property there and that the passport is in Greece, but the judge ordered him to turn it over.