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October 20, 2021

West Haven state rep charged in $600K consulting firm scheme

Photo | CT MIrror State Rep. Michael DiMassa leaves federal court in New Haven on Oct. 20, 2021.
By Liese Klein

West Haven state representative and city employee Michael DiMassa was arrested and charged Wednesday on allegations he improperly billed the city for more than $630,000 as part of a phony consulting scheme.

DiMassa surrendered to law enforcement and appeared before U.S. District Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in New Haven Wednesday morning. He was released on a $250,000 bond. He faces a charge of wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.

DiMassa has been employed by the city of West Haven for approximately 12 years and most recently served as the administrative assistant to the city council.

According to the charges, DiMassa and another individual formed Compass Investment Group, LLC in early 2021 and began billing the city of West Haven and its COVID-19 grant department for consulting services provided to the West Haven Health Department that were not performed.  

From February 2021 through September 2021, the city of West Haven paid Compass Investment Group a total of $636,783.70, court documents show  

DiMassa allegedly made several large cash withdrawals from the Compass Investment Group LLC bank account, some shortly before or after he was recorded as buying significant amounts of chips at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General are investigating the case, and the Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller has been named the prosecutor.

It was not immediately clear whom DiMassa had hired as his defense attorney.

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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