The FBI investigation of Lafayette’s 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, dubbed Operation Cajun Hustle, started in July 2021 with a tip from a local defense attorney that his client was being extorted for $30,000 to make pending charges go away.
The investigation, aided by phone wiretaps and audio and video recordings by a cooperating conspirator, led to a May 9, 2022, raid on the DA’s pretrial diversion program offices, the indictment of five men, including Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet, and three plea deals.
Haynes is on trial in U.S. District Court in Lafayette on six federal charges including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, using a cell phone in aid of bribery (two counts), conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice…