A lawmaker in the state is facing charges of federal wire fraud. Law enforcement officials have alleged that he stole upwards of $600,000 to fund his gambling habit.

Connecticut Lawmaker arrested

Rep. Michael DiMassa (D-West Haven) from Connecticut was arrested on October 20, 2021. He was charged with one count of wire fraud. He appeared before US District Court Judge Sarah Merriam and he was released on bail. The bond set for the bail was $ 250,000.

Federal prosecutors have stated that DiMassa created an entity known as Compass Investment Group LLC. This entity was used to fraudulently steal the relief funds for COVID-19. The funds were allegedly stolen from the City of West Haven. Charges framed by law enforcement officials pertain to multiple withdrawals from Compass Investment Group.

Why steal from the City of West Haven

Apart from being a lawmaker in the state, DiMassa has been an employee at the City of West Haven. He has been an employee there for over 12 years. His most recent employment was as an Administrative Assistant at the West Haven City Council.

It is in this most recent role, the investigation by the federal authorities has been done and has concluded that DiMassa had access to funds amounting to $1.2 million. This money was earmarked for COVID-19 relief that was supplied by the Government of the United States of America through the CARES Act to the town in Connecticut.

In the capacity of Administrative Assistant, the lawmaker had the authority to sign and issue cheques on the invoices of the entity he had created. He would not require the consent of any other official from the City to do so. The Office of the US Attorney has found that the entity named Compass provided no service to the West Haven Health Department.

Multiple cheques were issued to the entity and a large sum of this money has gone to gambling trips to the tribal casino of Mohegan Sun that is located in Eastern Connecticut.