After eight days of testimony, a jury found a longtime prosecutor guilty of bribery and conspiracy charges on Thursday.
Gary Haynes, a longtime prosecutor in Lafayette, was convicted 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 now faces up to 60 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million or more, with sentencing set for December.
The government relied heavily on audio and video of conversations of the people involved in the alleged scheme; all of them were edited prior to presentation to the jury. Haynes' lawyers objected to the edits, and filed a Motion which ultimately was denied. Attached to the Motion were full transcripts of the conversations, which included a lot of gossip about local attorneys, current and former District Attorneys in several parishes, current and former state officials - including governors - and other prominent people.
We're posting the entire document below, but be aware: These conversations contain profanity and offensive language. We haven't edited any of these public documents, which are part of the court record. If you don't want to see that language, don't read the document.
The parties in these conversations include Leonard Franques, Dusty Guidry, Gary Haynes and Joseph Prejean. Franques, Guidry and Prejean all have pleaded guilty; Haynes was convicted. All four men await sentencing in federal court; Guidry also faces prosecution on a state drug charge in St. Martin Parish.
Here's the document:
