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Prosecutors rest case against Haynes Federal trial of assistant district attorney focuses on alleged corruption
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
Lafayette Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes, in a Dec. 14, 2021, audio recording played Monday in his federal bribery trial, said his boss was concerned about rumors that a contract consultant in the pretrial intervention program was taking payoffs to make cases go away.
Haynes is on trial on six federal charges including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, using a cellphone in aid of bribery (two counts), conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice in connection with kickback schemes that included the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office’s pretrial intervention program where he worked. District Attorney Don Landry
was concerned about Dusty Guidry, the non-attorney contract consultant who was arrested on drug charges Dec. 10, 2021, in an FBI setup. He pleaded guilty in April 2023 to federal charges involving the bribery scheme in a plea deal and testified last week for prosecutors. The government played an audio recording from Dec. 14, 2021, four days after Guidry’s drug arrest,
of Haynes speaking with co-conspirator Leonard Franques, who also pleaded guilty for his role in the bribery scheme. The FBI had raided Franques’ home and businesses days earlier. He and his wife agreed to cooperate with investigators and he was wearing a wire to tape the meeting with Haynes. Haynes said on the recording that Landry wasn’t happy about
Louisiana eyes share of $50B federal fund for rural health
Financial future of around 50 small-town hospitals in state hinges on program BY EMILY WOODRUFF
Staff writer
a rumor that Guidry was getting paid off to make cases go away. Guidry, before the drug arrest, worked full-time in the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in East Baton Rouge Parish and parttime in Lafayette. Haynes assured Landry that Guidry might be taking bribes in East Baton Rouge Parish to makes cases disappear but not in Lafayette. If he were doing it in Lafayette,
ä See TRIAL, page 4A
U.S. again targets boat from Venezuela Trump says vessel was carrying drugs
The White House announced Monday that applications are open for the new Rural Health Transformation Fund, a $50 billion initiative over five years that federal officials said will “make rural America healthy again.” The money comes as Medicaid, a lifeline for rural hospitals, faces deep cuts under the same law that created the fund. Louisiana has around 50 rural hospitals whose financial health hinges on securing a share of it. States now face a tight deadline: applications are due in early November, leaving only a few weeks to design detailed proposals. Federal officials will have less than two months to review and distribute the money before the end of the year. Louisiana has a large number of small-town hospitals walking a financial tightrope to stay afloat. Democratic senators flagged 33 hospitals in the state as at risk of closure in a letter earlier this year, the highest number in any state after Kentucky. The fund was created in response to a backlash over Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law in July. About 1 in 3 people in Louisiana uses Medicaid, one of the highest rates in the nation. Louisiana is the only state in the Deep South
BY AAMER MADHANI and REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Nurse Scarlett Breckwoldt checks on Tim Cowell, as he receives IV treatment at Hood Memorial Hospital in Amite on June 26. Rural hospitals like Hood are walking a financial tightrope to stay ä See RURAL, page 4A afloat amid deep cuts to Medicaid.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Monday again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel. “The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.” The strike was carried out nearly two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, Trump said he had been shown footage of the latest strike by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Asked what proof the U.S. has that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump replied, “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo
ä See BOAT, page 6A
St. Pius Elementary set to expand
of the school’s In- of moving things forward.” School gets $1M grant construction novative Learning Center. The The foundation accepts grant building will applications three times a year. for learning center 28,000-square-foot house the school’s early learners Since its inception in 1994, it has
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
Nearly 30 years after the first blueprints were drawn, St. Pius Elementary School is getting a new building with the help of a $1 million grant from the Stuller Family Foundation. The grant will go toward the
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 70 PAGE 6A
and have learning spaces that will be used by all the school’s students. “The new building will touch every soul, every heart, every child that walks into it,” Principal Kellie DesOrmeaux said. “It’s an honor to have (the Stuller Family Foundation) believe in us. This vision is coming to light and with their support, it’s increasing the momentum
invested more than $70 million in organizations that serve the Acadiana region. “At Stuller, we believe in investing in the next generation,” the nonprofit said on its Facebook page. “This project ensures that children not only receive an
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A conceptual rendering shows St. Pius Elementary School’s Innovative ä See EXPAND, page 6A Learning Center.
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