State Rep. Michael DiMassa has been arrested by the FBI, accused of
billing the city of West Haven for more than $600,000 in fictitious work supposedly connected to a COVID-19 clinic, and for other bogus expenses allegedly tied to the city’s coronavirus response.
Federal investigators say DiMassa, a Democrat, never provided any services to the city and allegedly spent some of the money on tens of thousands of dollars in chips at the Mohegan Sun casino.
Earlier this month, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi announced what she described as several large, potentially fraudulent expenditures from the city’s share of federal pandemic recovery funding.
“After reviewing the expenditures, I suspect that some of these funds may have been diverted, and not used for the purpose for which they were intended ... A thought that sickens me,” Rossi said.
At the time, Rossi said the city would use all options available to recover any misappropriated money.
General Assembly leaders have removed DiMassa from his committee assignments.
Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly called the allegations in West Haven deeply troubling. He and other Republican General Assembly leaders urged the governor’s budget office to audit how cities and towns are using coronavirus relief funds.
