Michael DiMassa, a former Connecticut state representative has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven; most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid and using a large part of it to fuel his gambling addiction.
As he apologized during his sentencing before Judge Omar Williams, Michael DiMassa said, “I stole that money. That is on me. It’s hard to find the word to express how I feel. I feel ashamed, embarrassed, mortified.”
His lawyer, John Gulash, wrote in a court filing, “Mr. DiMassa suffered from a debilitating gambling addiction at the time of the offense and his essentially unfettered access to a deep pool of federal funds and total lack of impulse control facilitated his precipitous downward spiral.”
The lawyer likened DiMassa to Howard Ratner, the gambler portrayed by Adam Sandler in the film “Uncut Gems.” He claimed to have placed bets on absurd topics like how long the national anthem will play during the Super Bowl or what color Gatorade would be poured on the winning coach.
He primarily wagered and gambled at the Mohegan Sun casino in eastern Connecticut.
DiMassa was a state representative and a West Haven City Council aide at the time of the thefts, which started in mid-2020. He had the power to approve reimbursements for costs associated with the coronavirus.
He admitted that he and others had billed West Haven for legal, lobbying, and consulting services that had never been rendered when he entered a plea of guilty to three counts of wire fraud conspiracy in November.
Prosecutors claim that DiMassa stole about $637,000 along with John Bernardo, a business partner who was once employed by the city of West Haven. Bernardo was given a 13-month prison term in March after admitting guilt to wire fraud.
DiMassa and another businessman, John Trasacco, engaged in a second scheme in which they colluded to submit false invoices from Trasacco’s businesses to the city in order to get roughly $432,000 in COVID-19 funding. A jury found Trasacco guilty of fraud in March, and the majority of that was given to him in the form of an eight-year prison sentence.
According to police, DiMassa and his wife Lauren DiMassa were implicated in a final scheme that resulted in the theft of over $148,000. The pair submitted false requests for the city to contribute money for a program that prevents youth violence. The money that were stolen were not federal coronavirus aid.
Lauren DiMassa, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in March to six months in prison. She recently reported to prison.
Dimassa Ordered To Pay Nearly $866,000
In addition to his prison sentence, Michael DiMassa was ordered to pay nearly $866,000 in restitution to the city of West Haven. His codefendants were ordered to pay restitution to make up the rest of the stolen money.
“The defendant was a public official elected to serve his constituents,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing documents. “Instead, he completely betrayed that trust by stealing public funds for his own benefit,” prosecutors added.
DiMassa resigned from the Legislature and the city of West Haven after his arrest in 2021.
DiMassa, 32, had asked for leniency. He could have gotten more than four years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
He had cited several reasons for leniency including his lack of any previous criminal record, his testicular cancer and being able to care for his children.
