A former Connecticut lawmaker has been sentenced to 27 months in jail for stealing greater than $1.2 million in federal coronavirus aid funds from town of West Haven.
Michael Dimassa pleaded responsible in November 2022 to wire fraud and conspiracy costs associated to embezzlement.
The 32-year-old disgraced politician was head of town’s COVID-19 grants division and had the facility to chop checks with out supervision. He arrange a shell firm with three co-conspirators to cost town for non-existent providers.
Dimassa ‘I wager something’
This corrupt official blew 1000’s of {dollars} on the Mohegan Solar On line casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Lawyer John Glasch instructed the courtroom that DiMassa had a playing downside, likening him to Adam Sandler’s character within the film “Uncut Gems,” an habit that sparked the case. rice subject. “Fast downward spiral”.
Goulash mentioned Dimassa would wager on something from the size of the Tremendous Bowl nationwide anthem to the colour of Gatorade poured on the profitable supervisor.
I stole that cash. It is my duty,” Dimassa instructed a federal choose in Hartford forward of Wednesday’s sentencing. “It is onerous to search out phrases to precise how I really feel. I am ashamed, ashamed, and pissed off.”
Dimassa had been sentenced to as much as 30 years in jail earlier than he obtained a plea discount final yr. As a part of that deal, he testified towards his co-conspirators John Bernardo and John Trasacco.
Native enterprise proprietor Trasacco, 50, concocted $432,000 in bogus invoices, paid by Dimassa. After a jury trial, Trasacco was discovered responsible of fraud and sentenced to eight years in jail in March.
Dimassa, together with metropolis worker Bernardo, shaped the Compass Investments Group and billed town’s grants division for $636,000.
spouse imprisoned
Regardless of being a shell firm accomplice, Bernardo obtained solely $50,000 of the embezzled money. He instructed the choose on the listening to that the primary time he realized how a lot cash had been siphoned into Compass Investments was when he examine it in a newspaper. Bernardo was sentenced to 13 months in jail in March.
DiMassa’s pregnant spouse, Lauren DiMassa, can also be suspected of involvement. In 2020 and 2021, Dimassa filed false claims for $148,000 to Westhaven’s youth violence prevention program, which was not a part of the COVID-19 Aid Fund. He demanded the examine be drawn to his spouse, then generally known as Lauren Knox. She was sentenced to 6 months in jail for her position within the scheme.
“Liars and Thieves”
U.S. District Choose Omar Williams selected a lenient sentence when handing out the three to 4 years in jail advisable by federal prosecutors, citing Dimassa’s repentance and finally cooperation with the federal government. However the Democratic mayor of West Haven, Nancy Rossi, was utterly unrepentant.
“The town trusts Mr. Dimassa,” she mentioned. “Our belief was misplaced. He’s a liar, a thief, a cheater and a corrupt gambler.”
(tag translation) sport enterprise
