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LA Board of Ethics clears Marcus Bruno of misconduct

Posted at 12:14 PM, Aug 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-22 13:15:41-04

The Louisiana Board of Ethics has cleared Marcus Bruno of any potential violations of the Code of Governmental Ethics, according to a letter obtained by the Current.

In February, KATC’s media partner The Acadiana Advocate reported that in 2016, Bruno - an aid to Mayor-President Joel Robideaux - borrowed $35,000 from Lafayette Neighborhood’s Economic Development Corp. for use by LA Consultants, which is a firm owned by Bruno.

The loan was reported as a potential conflict of interest because Bruno's employer, Lafayette Consolidated Government, and Bruno in particular, arguably had oversight of LNEDC, which is a non-profit organization.

The Lafayette City-Parish Council launched an investigation of its own after the allegations surfaced and LCG attorneys ultimately cleared Bruno of any conflict of interest.

Bruno and his wife, Traci Bruno, the co-owner of the business, paid off the controversial loan in June.

In the Aug. 16 letter, the board writes to Bruno that it met on Aug. 13 to discuss a confidential investigation report and concluded that it found no evidence of a violation of the code of ethics.

The letter states that the small business loan was not under the supervision or jurisdiction of the Office of the Mayor for Lafayette Consolidated Government.

In February, Robideaux requested an opinion on Bruno's loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That investigation is still ongoing.