A "Change of Plea" hearing is set for Tuesday in the case of former state Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet.
Montoucet was indicted in the bribery probe that so far has netted three guilty pleas and one jury conviction in Acadiana.
The hearing was set on Wednesday; it's scheduled to happen on Tuesday at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph, who has accepted the pleas and oversaw the trial - and who has sentenced all four men convicted so far in the case.
The setting of the hearing follows the entry earlier this year of Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Dempsey into the case; he's a trial attorney with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.
Montoucet was indicted in May 2025. We reached out to his attorney, Don Cazayoux of Baton Rouge; at this time he is declining to comment.
Montoucet was indicted in the case that so far has netted the guilty pleas of two businessmen and a former public official, as well as the jury conviction of a former assistant District Attorney, Gary Haynes. In some of the other indictments, a state official with Wildlife and Fisheries was referred to, but never named. After the first indictment came down, Montoucet resigned.
If convicted on the charges in the indictment, Montoucet faces up to five years on the conspiracy count and up to 20 years in prison on the fraud and money laundering counts, plus fines of up to $1 million. In general, plea deals on the federal level usually involve at least one of the charges in the original indictment, but in some cases superceeding indictments with different charges are filed.
Back in September, a jury deliberated around two hours before finding Haynes guilty on charges of conspiracy to engage in bribery; bribery; two counts use of a cell phone to facilitate bribery; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and obstruction of justice. He faced up to 60 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million or more.
Haynes was indicted in Fall 2024. He was accused of using his position over the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Pretrial Diversion program to solicit bribes from companies that provided required programs to people who participated in the program.
Testimony at his trial showed that the FBI used Haynes' alleged co-conspirators to weave the web that ensnared him. The investigation began in July 2021 when the FBI got a tip about Joseph Prejean shaking down defendants who were facing charges in the 15th Judicial District. The wiretaps began with him, and expanded to Dusty Guidry and Haynes based on information gathered on those tapes. Prejean, Guidry and Scott businessman Leonard Franques already have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Prejean was sentenced to 18 months in prison, $40,000 in fines and three years of supervised release. Franques was sentenced to one year in prison, more than $169,000 in fines and forfeitures, and one year of supervised release. Guidry was sentenced to four years in prison.
Testimony showed that Franques agreed to cooperate early on, wearing wires and setting up video cameras to capture conversations with Guidry and Haynes. Those recordings played a major role in the government's case. According to the government's theory of the case, Guidry and Haynes began working in the pretrial diversion program shortly after Don Landry was elected District Attorney. Franques was making money by offering classes to participants in the program for a fee; he was splitting the fee with Guidry and Haynes in exchange for their efforts to get him more customers. Haynes paid the two men more than $219,000 to "buy in" to the scheme, and resurrected along-dormant LLC in order to serve as a depositor for some of the graft, along with more bribes coming from Franques in connection with a similar scheme involving the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. That's the basis of the allegations against Montoucet.
If you'd like to read more of our coverage of this case, here are some stories:
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/update-dusty-guidry-sentenced-to-four-years-in-prison
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/gary-haynes-files-motion-for-new-trial
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/prosecutors-respond-to-haynes-motion-for-new-trial
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/haynes-trial-what-the-jury-didnt-hear
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/jury-deliberations-underway-in-federal-bribery-trial
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/gary-haynes-suspended-from-the-practice-of-law
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/another-former-da-employee-testifies-in-bribery-trial
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/bribery-trial-resumes-jury-hears-more-recorded-conversations
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/witness-disputes-fbis-version-of-her-statement-takes-the-fifth
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/update-former-ada-gary-haynes-indicted-by-federal-grand-jury
https://www.katc.com/lafayette-parish/update-court-denies-haynes-motion-for-new-trial
