Two more admitted co-conspirators have been sentenced in a federal bribery investigation.
Joseph Prejean of Church Point and Leonard Franques of Scott, both businessmen who pleaded guilty in the investigation, were sentenced in federal court Tuesday.
Prejean was sentenced first; the court sentenced him to serve 18 months in prison, $40,000 in fines and three years of supervised release. Tuesday afternoon, Franques was sentenced to one year in prison, more than $169,000 in fines and forfeitures, and one year of supervised release.
During the morning hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Prejean deserved a more lenient sentence than that set by sentencing guidelines - which was about twice what he received.
His attorney, Don Washington, told the judge about Prejean's many years of service to the community and about the letters of support sent on his behalf. His wife, his teenage son, the priest of St. John Cathedral and Walter Guillory were in the courtroom to support him. Among those sending letters were State Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, Assistant Attorney General Kendall Thomas, Carencro Charlotte Clavier and retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice James Genovese.
Washington, a former U.S. Attorney, said Prejean has a network of friends, family and supporters who stand ready to help with any support he needs during a term of probation.
"I'm one of them, because I know Joe Prejean," Washington said. "He's not just a client to me. If ever a candidate was eligible for probation, it's this man standing next to me."
Prejean made a statement; he apologized to his family and to the community he has worked so hard for over the years.
"I spent three decades dedicated to proving I could change lives, save lives, because if I could come out of the dumpster, they can too," Prejean said.
He said every day he tries to be the best father, the best mentor to his children "because I had none."
"I made mistakes. I have no excuses. In my darkest times, I made bad choices," Prejean said. "I stopped believing in working hard and took the easy way out."
U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph acknowledged Prejean's community support and his many years of work to help people who were struggling.
"I see that you have a gift and a heart for helping other people," the judge said.
But that did not outweigh the "blatant abuse of that trust and confidence the community had in you," the judge said.
"You used your position to prey on people who needed help. Instead of helping them, you extored money from them," Joseph said. "Your greed undermined the prior good things you did. Your actions were a major component of the corruption of the pre-trial diversion program."
Joseph said he would request that the Bureau of Prisons place Prejean in a prison close to where his family lives, and said that he was ordering 20 hours of community service with at-risk youth each month of the first year of his supervised release.
The judge also said, because of the upcoming holidays, he would allow Prejean to report to the prison the bureau selects in January.
Following the hearing, Washington said he was surprised by the sentence. Prejean does have the right to appeal the sentence; Washington said it's an option but no decisions have been made.
In the afternoon hearing, prosecutors told the judge that the value of Franques' cooperation "couldn't be overstated."
When the FBI began their investigation into the bribery scheme at the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office, it was clear that Gary Haynes was involved but he wasn't talking on the phone - and thus couldn't be ensnared in the wire taps, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Loew told the court.
But after the FBI confronted Franques, and he agreed to cooperate, he was able to obtain all the recordings that were used to convict Haynes at trial, Loew said.
"Getting him to cooperate was so essential; the most significant recordings were made through Mr. Franques. In addition to his de-briefs, his recordings spelled out the whole scheme," Loew said.
Franques "immediately" agreed to cooperate with investigators, and "went above and beyond" to assist the government in building a case against Haynes, he added.
Franques' attorney, Charles W Galbraith of Washington D.C., told the judge that his client was "a man of integrity, faith and family who made a terrible mistake." Galbraith said that his wife was diagnosed with cancer during "the darkest time" of Franques' life, but when they met Franques first asked about his wife "and wanted to be sure we were going to be ok."
Galbraith also said that Franques didn't seek out the bribery scheme, but instead "crossed a line he should have never crossed in an industry new to him and ripe for corruption.
"This conspiracy may not have been fully dismantled without his cooperation," Galbraith added.
Galbraith talked about Franques' many contributions to causes in the community, both of funds and time.
When Franques spoke, he told the judge he would forever regret the mistake he made that "stained my reputation and the life I built."
He told the judge how he grew up and put himself through school, working as a trash truck driver, a dishwasher and a bus boy, his eventure into the restaurant business and how his wife married him "when we had nothing." He said they had four children who he talks to every day and mentioned that they pray together as a family via telephone every Sunday night.
He became emotional when he told the judge that his children and his parents were not present in court because he asked them not to come.
"I couldn't bear to see them disappointed," he said.
He said he has made many financial donations to causes that he feels improve the community, in particular one that supports cancer patients, as he's had cancer twice. He said he and his wife serve meals at St. Joseph Diner.
He talked about selling his restaurant chain, and then starting an online education business - the one that eventually was caught in this bribery scheme.
"I did not start with ill intentions," he said. "I should have said no to Dusty Guidry from the first."
He went on to tell the judge that he has "hit the reset button" on his life and businesses, refocusing on industries "where a felon can work." He said he had to sell his treatment clinics, as his conviction prevents him from holding the necessary licenses.
He said he's turned to a technology business involving water treatment and real estate.
But with all those changes, he said "my greatest regret is the terrible strain on my family and my marriage."
He did mention all the support he has received - the courtroom was full of friends and family - was a positive, as he heard how much people cared about him "while I'm still alive."
"I will carry the weight of letting them down every day," he added.
Joseph said it is clear that Franques has had an impact on his community and has "done a lot of good."
But, he said, Franques had a "perverse incentive" when he played a role in the corruption of the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and it's mission of public safety.
Like he did with Prejean, the judge said Franques could report to prison in January after the holidays. Franques requested assignment to a prison in Alabama because that facility is better able to provide care for his medical conditions.
Following the hearing, Galbraith said his client would have no comment.
Earlier this month Dusty Guidry, who emerged as the lynch pin of the scheme, was sentenced to four years in prison in the case. Guidry also pleaded guilty, but he was a witness for the government in the trial of long-time prosecutor Gary Haynes. A jury found Haynes guilty during a September trial; 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, and he has filed a Motion for a new trial.
Haynes was indicted last fall; to read the indictment, scroll down. 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.
The trial started lasted a little more than a week. Prosecutors used audio and video clips, captured both from FBI phone taps and wires and videos set up by Franques, in their case.
The investigation began in July 2021 when the FBI got a tip about 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 Franques all pleaded guilty. Early on, Franques agreed to work with the FBI and recorded and filmed several conversations with Guidry and Haynes.
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.
To read about our coverage of the trial, click here, here, here, here and here.
KATC Investigates has been covering this case for several years, since Guidry was arrested on a drug charge that the FBI says was the result of a bust they requested. Here's some more background on this case:
The jury convicted Haynes 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 now faces up to 60 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million or more.
Franques pleaded guilty on January 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. 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.
Here's a copy of the indictment that charged Haynes:
To read more background from KATC Investigates, click here and here.
