Dusty Guidry, the central character in a wide-ranging bribery scheme, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Guidry pleaded guilty in April 2023 to a Bill of Information as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office. In exchange, he provided information about the schemes and testified against one of his alleged co-conspirators. He also faces drug charges in St. Martin Parish; his attorney said Wednesday that that case will be resolved tomorrow via plea deal for a concurrent sentence.
The four-year sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph was a significant downward departure from the one set by federal sentencing guidelines, which was 78 to 97 months, or six and a half to eight years in prison. That departure was in large part due to a motion by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"From the beginning, Mr. Guidry was fully cooperative, he answered all our questions and his testimony and information was honest and consistent over time," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Walker, who prosecuted the case. "He was cross-examined for almost two days by extremely aggressive defense counsel. His testimony was consistent and honest. He deserves a significant reduction in sentence. The Court knows what Mr. Guidry did, he was essentially the hub of this conspiracy. But even so, he has been fully cooperative."
For his part, Guidry said he wanted to apologize.
"I'm extremely sorry for my actions, that created all of this," Guidry said.
He apologized to the court, to the prosecutors and to his family.
"But most of all, I want to say I'm sorry to the community. I was in a position to help, but I put my own self-serving needs above that, and I'm truly sorry," Guidry said.
The judge said he reviewed a pre-sentence investigation, motions from the government and defense, and the law before he came up with Guiidry's sentence. Joseph also is familiar with the details of the case; he presided over the recent trial, and has accepted all the guilty pleas in the case.
Before handing down the sentence, he noted that District Attorneys - especially in Louisiana - have substantial power "that is almost unchecked."
"Your greed struck at the heart of the Louisiana criminal justice system and corrupted the pretrial systems here in Lafayette and in East Baton Rouge," the judge said. "This was and still is a system ripe for abuse, but that doesn't excuse your exploitation of it."
Following his sentence, Guidry will serve three years of supervised release, Joseph ordered. He also ordered a $10,000 fine, which Guidry can pay after his release. He placed several special conditions on Guiidry during those three years, including substance abuse and financial checks that his probation officer can conduct if necessary.
Because Guidry has been on pretrial release since his guilty plea and no violations were reported, Joseph said he would allow Guidry to self-report to federal prison on November 14. The judge asked that he be placed in a prison as close to Lafayette, and Guidry's family, as is possible.
The bribery scheme - in which Guidry and two businessmen pleaded guilty, and a former prosecutor was convicted at trial - involved the Lafayette District Attorney's pretrial diversion program. In the recent trial of the prosecutor, Gary Haynes, the jury decided that Haynes conspired with Guidry, Leonard Franques and Joseph Prejean to solicit bribes and kickbacks and to accept things of value while Haynes was an Assistant District Attorney in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors allege, and Guidry testified, that the scheme also involved the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Former LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet also has been indicted in this case; his trial is set for 2026.
Franques pleaded guilty on January 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. He wore a wire and set up cameras to capture his conversations about the schemes with Guidry and Haynes. These were played at Haynes' trial.
Guidry pleaded guilty on March 23, 2023, to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Prejean pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official in the Lafayette Parish District Attorney's Office.
Haynes was convicted last month 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. His sentencing is set for December.
Guidry testified during Haynes' trial; Franques and Prejean did not. Franques and Prejean are set to be sentenced later this year.
Haynes was placed in charge of the D.A.’s Office’s Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program–a program that offered an alternative to criminal prosecution for certain criminal offenders after he helped District Attorney Don Landry to the post. Haynes approved defendants to participate in the program and then directed them to take classes from Franques’ companies, the jury decided. To read about Landry's testimony in the case, click here and here.
Here is more of our coverage of the trial:
Testimony complete; closing arguments set in bribery trial
