We told you so! Jack Montoucet Indicted in Federal Bribery Scandal

Yesterday, acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook issued a release announcing that Jack Montoucet, the former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) under Governor John Bel Edwards, had been indicted on federal criminal charges. This federal investigation, now over two years in the making, has finally ensnared its highest-profile target yet. Join us as we discuss this scandal, which originated within the District Attorney’s Office for the 15th Judicial District.

Once Upon a Time…

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” – Auric Goldfinger

Beginning around March of 2008 and continuing for over four years, a public corruption scandal occurred with the Office of the District Attorney for the 15th Judicial District. The 15th Judicial District comprises three parishes – Lafayette, Vermilion, and Acadia. During that period, Mike Harson was the elected D.A.

It was that scandal that widely became known as the “OWI Scandal.” “It involved multiple individuals accepting bribes in exchange for favorable treatment in criminal proceedings. People made those cash payments expecting to receive a favorable outcome in their pending criminal matters. It also involved falsifying records, including records supporting whether community service had been completed. (We mention this specifically because it is a practice allegedly occurring in places in Lafayette Parish at this very moment. We’ll pivot there in the future.)

That scandal led to the arrest and prosecution of several individuals in Federal Court, including Barna Haynes (Administrative Assistant to Mike Harson and wife of Gary Haynes); Greg Williams (Assistant District Attorney); Denease Curry (an employee of the District Attorney’s Office; Sandra Degeyter; and Elaine Crump (both employees of Acadiana Outreach). Robert Williamson, a local private investigator, was also charged and prosecuted by federal authorities.

The federal officials then deferred other participants in the scandal to the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, which now-Governor Jeff Landry headed. Prosecutions of Kevin Ozenne (an employee of the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court); Justina Ina (a probation officer); Joy Trahan (manager of the Lafayette branch of the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles); Kenneth Franques, Sr. (a former law enforcement officer); C. Luke Edwards and Dan Kennison (both local defense attorneys) were left to state officials to prosecute. Some were… some weren’t… but the buck stopped there.

Speculation of More Involved

There was talk of many other shady characters escaping the net. The practical reality is that the federal authorities could only prosecute those who had violated federal law; the rest remained for the state to prosecute for state law violations. In this state, politics remains supreme over prosecutions. The reason the buck stopped where it did, roughly ten years ago, likely had more to do with the implication of other elected officials and their offices.

We all have short memories, so we should also be reminded of another controversy occurring at Acadiana Outreach around this time. Paula Scott, an employee of Acadiana Outreach, was arrested in August 2009. That arrest was based on allegations that Scott had stolen more than $33,000 in federal hurricane relief money related to Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Less than a year later, Judge Ed Rubin handed down a suspended sentence of seven years (no jail time), five years of probation, and restitution totaling $46,000 at a rate of $769.00/month.

Early Christmas Gifts

But Scott was not making her regular restitution payments. Roughly six months later, Scott had not even made a full one-month payment. Between December of 2011 and November of 2013, Scott would have several revocation hearings for non-compliance with her sentence. Then, in 2013, Judge Rubin terminated Scott’s probation unsatisfactorily, without jail time or future restitution payments. Some even accused Rubin of remarking it was an ‘early Christmas gift.’ (Brian Pope should push for that deal!)

Interestingly enough, Scott also worked for the infamous grifter, who occasionally receives Christmas gifts of his own from public officials, such as Chris Williams. Scott’s work was related to a contract Williams obtained for a Disaster Housing Assistance Program. That program, which was administered through the Lafayette Housing Authority, was later terminated following an audit that revealed several issues, including a lack of documentation to support employee payments. Imagine that!

It’s Enemy Action

After six years, Keith Stutes, who replaced Mike Harson as District Attorney, decided not to run for re-election. While some local conservatives have criticized Stutes as ‘doing nothing’ during his term in office, that remark may be more complimentary than not. Stutes’ administration was not marked by scandal. That says something.

Don Landry defeated Danny Landry to succeed Stutes in office. Landry took office in January 2021, and it wouldn’t be long before grease was applied and the wheels of corruption were advancing again. A little over a year later, in May 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Landry’s office. Shortly thereafter, Gary Haynes was placed on administrative leave.

The name Dusty Guidry has become synonymous with the ongoing District Attorney scandal, but he is far from being the kingfish. We first reported on Dusty Guidry in April of 2023, just weeks after he pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit an offense and one count of soliciting a bribe. Guidry pocketed bribery payments totaling $739,497.71. Guidry pleaded guilty in March of 2023 and awaits sentencing. From there, we began identifying those persons believed to be associated with the bribery scheme who were otherwise known simply as “public officials” or “vendors.”

Montoucet Identified

Through that research, in April 2023, we identified Jack Montoucet as PO-2 (Public Official #2). Two years later, Montoucet has finally been officially charged through a grand jury indictment for his alleged role in the bribery scandal. Montoucet faces three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Gary Haynes, who we believe was listed in earlier documents as PO-1 (Public Official #1), was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024. Haynes’ indictment alleges he committed conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, using his cell phone in furtherance of bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

Leonard Franques

The name Leonard Franques should also sound familiar. We previously reported on a $3,000,000 handout from our state legislature that was carefully funneled through the Acadiana Area Human Services District. The intended recipients had ties to Franques, were large donors to several political campaigns, including District Attorney Don Landry, former Lafayette-City Parish President Josh Guillory, Lafayette Sheriff Mark Garber, Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson, Vermilion Parish Sheriff Mike Couvillon, and Iberia Parish Sheriff “Tax Man” Tommy Romero. These same elected officials and/or their offices would provide written support for the project, which the Acadiana Area Human Services District Director knew nothing about.

Franques and Joseph Prejean, another vendor involved in the bribery allegations, have already pleaded guilty and, like Guidry, are awaiting sentencing. This delay is not uncommon in these types of cases. At this time, it is undetermined how substantial the cooperation of these three witnesses has been in the investigation. The court will consider that before handing down a punishment.

What we know is these types of cases are far from a slam dunk. We saw a similar case unfold years ago against former Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal. The prosecution relied heavily on the substantial cooperation of witnesses who pleaded guilty to committing criminal acts. Ackal took his case to trial and was ultimately acquitted by a Shreveport jury. The wind was taken out of the sails of the federal prosecution, and many of the other people suspected to be under investigation and likely to be tried by federal prosecutors never were. Some have already slithered their way back into positions in law enforcement.

State Corruption Empowers Federal Overreach

Ironically, state corruption invites federal intervention, eroding the very sovereignty lawmakers claim to defend. Yesterday, State Representative Mike Johnson (R 7/10) presented to the House of Representatives HB64. This bill is supposed to give the Office of the Attorney General more power to defend the sovereignty of the State of Louisiana. The spirit of such an instrument finds its roots in the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides for the rules of construction that are all too often overlooked.

The states are supposed to keep the national government in check. The federal leviathan was created by the states and is their agent to carry out the specific delegated and enumerated powers in the Constitution. For far too long, our states have failed, just like our federal Congress has failed to perform its duties, leaving much of the nation’s policy to executive will or judicial decree.

We often have to rely on the same federal government to arrest bad actors in our state. Why? This is not because federal law is the only applicable law that covers illegal acts. It is because many of our state officials are corrupt! These same state officials will knowingly turn a blind eye if the person doing the wrongdoing is willing to turn the same blind eye for their benefit. This system of corruption leads to private payouts from the public treasury, which we see every summer. How closely are you watching the payouts being made in Baton Rouge right now?

###