In bribery case, new link emerges between vendor and former LA DWF Head Jack Montoucet

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One of the vendors accused of paying bribes in a broad bribery scandal in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office was also hired by former Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet to do work for his agency, which has been tarnished in the same scandal.

The vendor, Joseph Prejean, who is close to Montoucet, runs C&A Consulting Services, one of four firms that until recently provided services to defendants approved for pretrial diversion by Lafayette Parish District Attorney Don Landry’s office. Dusty Guidry, who ran the pretrial program for Landry, pleaded guilty in March to taking more than $800,000 in bribes from the owners of the four firms.

Records from the LDWF show Prejean also got paid by that agency, landing a $68,500 deal to provide courses for a similar diversion program.

The financial relationship between Prejean and Montoucet’s agency, which has not previously been reported, provides a new link between two distinct nodes of the sprawling bribery case.

In addition to his work in Lafayette, Guidry for many years also oversaw diversion programs for East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore. Guidry, who was a full-time employee there, resigned in December 2021 after being booked on drug charges. At the same time, Guidry quit his volunteer position as a board member of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, where he interacted regularly with Montoucet.

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Records show Prejean was hired by in 2021 by the LDWF to “develop course content” for people who violated wildlife laws, as part of a diversion program modeled after those offered by Louisiana district attorneys that Montoucet and Guidry set up at Wildlife and Fisheries. Prejean’s company was paid $68,500 for a contract that ended in June 2022.

Montoucet resigned as secretary of the LDWF in April, shortly after The Advocate | The Times-Picayune reported that he had been implicated in Guidry’s plea deal.

Montoucet has not been charged with a crime, nor have any of the vendors Guidry says bribed him, though the investigation is continuing and more charges are expected. Montoucet has not commented on the case.

While Guidry’s plea centered on diversion programs run by Landry’s office, one scheme he confessed to focused on the LDWF. That portion of the case implicated Leonard Franques, a wealthy Lafayette-area businessman, whom Montoucet hired to develop online courses similar to those offered by Prejean. Guidry’s plea said Franques agreed to bribe him and Montoucet, with cash payments as well as a $14,000 ATV.

The agency’s contract with Prejean shows still another connection tying together the cast of characters involved in the schemes. Recent reporting has raised questions about deals that didn’t figure into Guidry’s guilty plea, including hurricane contracts and land deals inked by Montoucet.

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At Montoucet’s request, Gov. John Bel Edwards previously appointed Prejean to a statewide council on prisoners’ issues. The resume Prejean provided to LDWF says his company provides educational courses for DAs, courts, law enforcement and other agencies. He also offered motivational speaking, citing a dramatic upbringing “which he is lucky to have survived.”

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Franques’ business partner in that deal, Jeff Richardson, also led a separate group of landowners who landed a deal that called for Montoucet’s agency to spend $9 million to buy a huge piece of swampland they owned. Montoucet signed a purchase agreement and the deal was nearly consummated, but it was put on hold recently after Jay Dardenne, the governor’s budget chief, raised questions about the price.

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