The Current is reporting that their sources say the Louisiana Office of the Attorney General is investigating the Lafayette Parish School System.
Word of the new investigation, described as a public corruption probe, comes after the Lafayette Police Department confirmed to The Current that it has closed its investigation into forged quotes for Lafayette schools’ construction projects. The Current’s reporting has uncovered more than two dozen quotes from contractors who said they did not vie for the projects noted on school district documents bearing their letterhead, the newspaper reports.
That forgery investigation, launched by LPD on June 18, led to the August arrest of Robert Gautreaux, LPSS’s former director of construction, facilities and maintenance, on state felony charges of filing false public records and injuring public records. Gautreaux has not yet been charged and continues to work for the school district under a non-disclosure agreement.
On Dec. 3, LPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Robin Green told The Current that the department had forwarded the Gautreaux case to the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office that same day — even though District Attorney Don Landry’s office had not yet requested the investigative file, months after the arrest, the newspaper reports.
Sources say the AG’s office is investigating whether anyone higher up than Gautreaux was involved in the alleged forgeries or had knowledge that quotes were being manipulated in order to direct school work to favored contractors. Investigators are also looking into whether any school officials benefited financially from relationships with vendors, according to those sources, the newspaper reports.
To read the whole story from The Current, click here.
