Dimassa to resign after arrest in relief fund misuse probe
State Rep. Michael Dimassa, accused of stealing more than $600,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money by billing the city of West Haven for pandemic related consulting services that federal officials said he never performed, is expected to resign his seat in the legislature as early as Friday, House Speaker Matthew Ritter said.
“The secretary of the state tells us the letter is coming tomorrow,” Ritter said late Thursday. Lawmakers intending to resign must notify the secretary of the state in writing.
Dimassa also resigned his post as an aide to the West Haven City Council on Thursday, according to Ritter. Dimassa could not be reached immediately for comment.
Immediately following his arrest Wednesday, Dimassa, a Democrat, was stripped of all committee and leadership assignments by Ritter and House majority leader Jason Rojas.
“Elected officials are rightly held to a high standard of conduct and trust,” Ritter and Rojas said in a joint statement. “Even the slightest hint of wrongdoing bruises that trust.”
Dimassa, 30, a West Haven Democrat who was charged with fraud, was arrested early Wednesday by FBI agents and was presented in U.S. District Court in New Haven shortly before noon. He was released on a $250,000 bond.
Federal prosecutors and FBI agents said that a portion of the alleged thefts appear to correspond with Dimassa’s purchase of tens of thousands of dollars in gambling chips at the Mohegan Sun casino. At the time, he was one of three city officials designated to oversee emergency pandemic spending.
Dimassa’s name surfaced last week amid reports that
the FBI, as well as the administration of West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, also a Democrat, were looking into what the mayor called a number of large and apparently irregular expenditures from about $1.2 million in federal funds.
“Over the last two weeks, I have personally reviewed many of West Haven’s federal CARES Act expenditures,” Rossi said. “I have come across several large expenditures that have caused me great concern. Some of the expenditures appear improper and may be potentially fraudulent.”
State Senate Republican leaders called on Gov. Ned Lamont to initiate and oversee a statewide audit of all COVID-19 funds. Senate Republican leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford and deputy leader Paul Formica said that all 169 cities and towns should be audited to restore public confidence that the federal money is being used for proper expenses.
Dimassa is accused of defrauding West Haven with false billings he submitted through the Compass Investment Group, a consulting firm he registered with John Bernardo, also of West Haven. Bernardo is not identified in an FBI affidavit that details the charges against Dimassa.
One example of an alleged fraud detailed in the affidavit involves a May 5 payment by the West Haven “COVID-19 Grant Department” for what is described in the payment voucher as services to the West Haven Health Department for “COVID19 Legal+ Lobbying+ Site work for COVID-19 Clinic.”
According to the affidavit, the invoice listed charges that included “305 hours of Consulting Service-legislative Review Executive Orders — COVID-19, 483 hours of Consulting Service-support Staff Services, 305 hours of Monitors/security Site (April 2021-May 2021), and 102 hours of Consulting Service Lobbying Service-covid-19 Federal.”
The amount billed to the city of West Haven was $85,595. West Haven issued a check for that amount the following day, May 6, to Compass Investment Group LLC.