750 ML
750 ML
Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1792 Small Batch Bourbon
22
31
750 ML
Benchmark Top Floor Bourbon
13
750 ML
Wild ld Tu Turkey urkey 101 Bourbo on urbon
26 26
750 ML
Angel’s Envy Bourbon
44
750 ML
Four Roses Single Barrel Whiskey
35
10 OZZ
Rouuses uses Dark Cherries in Bourbon Bourbon
visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials! Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores September 17th - 24th, 2025.
THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
F r i d ay, S e p t e m b e r 19, 2025
$2.00X
Haynes found guilty in federal bribery case
Trump takes Fed firing to Supreme Court
Lafayette assistant district attorney convicted on all six counts BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
A federal jury of six men and six women on Thursday convicted Lafayette Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes on six charges he faced in connection with a bribery scheme in the District Attorney’s Office. Haynes, an assistant district attorney in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, was on trial for his role in accepting offenders into the pretrial diversion program, some who didn’t qualify, and pushing them to take online classes and therapy from companies owned by businessman Leonard Franques. Franques kicked back money to Haynes and co-conspirator Dusty Guidry, who also worked in pretrial intervention. Haynes, who pleaded not guilty in October, was found guilty on two counts of use of a cellphone in interstate commerce in aid of bribery and on single counts of conspiracy to engage in bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiring to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice. He is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 17. Haynes, 67, faces up to 60 years in prison and up to $1.5 million in fines. Neither Haynes nor his attorney would comment after the verdict. He was released until sentencing. Haynes’ defense team portrayed him as a pawn in the scheme who thought he was
President wants emergency order to remove board member BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Gary Haynes, an assistant district attorney in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, arrives at ä See HAYNES, page 4A the John M. Shaw Federal Courthouse on Thursday in Lafayette.
Employer tax set to decrease
owners who claim they Group representing ness were harmed by the disaster reached a tentative settleworkers, bystanders have ment with the building’s owner. at N.O. collapse Attorney Walter Leger Jr. announced the “agreement in gets tentative deal principal” with 1031 Canal De-
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
ä See JOBLESS, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 68 PAGE 14C
ä See FIRING, page 5A
Hard Rock reaches partial settlement
La. jobless benefit rising
The maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Louisiana will soon increase from $275 to $282 after state leaders on Thursday got an updated economic forecast of the state’s unemployment claims. Employers can also expect a cut in the unemployment insurance taxes they pay per employee into the state’s
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. The Republican administration turned to the high court after an appeals court refused to go along with ousting Cook, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reshape the Fed’s seven- Cook member governing board and strike a blow at its independence. The White House campaign to unseat Cook marks an unprecedented bid to reshape the Fed board, which was designed to be largely independent from dayto-day politics. No president has fired a sitting Fed governor in the agency’s 112-year history. Cook, who was appointed to the Fed’s board by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said she won’t leave her post and won’t be “bullied” by Trump. One of her lawyers, Abbe Lowell, has said she “will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.” Separately, Senate Republicans on Monday confirmed Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to an open spot on the Fed’s board. Both
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
The Hard Rock Hotel was under construction on Canal Street in New Orleans when it collapsed on Oct. 12, 2019.
Nearly six years after the Hard Rock Hotel collapsed on Canal Street while under construction, the committee that represents more than 400 workers, bystanders and busi-
Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified ..................10C Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
velopment and its insurers on Thursday morning in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. It came during a hearing that had been scheduled ahead of an upcoming trial in the case. Details of the settlement must still be finalized and will
ä See SETTLEMENT, page 4A
101ST yEAR, NO. 81