Jack Montoucet abruptly resigned Friday as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a day after The Times-Picayune | The Advocate identified him as the high-ranking department official accused in a federal plea bargain of taking a payoff.
Montoucet, 75, had served as the wildlife and fisheries secretary since 2017, appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Before his appointment, Montoucet had been an alligator farmer and state representative from Scott, just west of Lafayette.
During his tenure as secretary, Montoucet was known for promoting hunting and fishing in the state and for supporting the protection of wildlife.
Rob Shadoin, the deputy secretary and a former state representative from Ruston, is likely to replace Montoucet.
Montoucet’s legal troubles surfaced Tuesday when federal prosecutors in Lafayette disclosed that a Youngsville man named Dusty Guidry had pleaded guilty to several crimes.
Montoucet has not been arrested in the probe or been accused of any crime. He has not returned phone calls in recent days.
In one count, according to the federal documents, Guidry said he had accepted bribes along with a high-ranking LDWF official from a department contractor that provided online courses for hunting and boating licenses and courses that allowed people ticketed with minor violations of department rules to have those infractions dropped.
The federal documents said the contract was signed by the high-ranking department official on Oct. 8, 2021.
A public records request filed by the newspaper obtained Thursday showed that Montoucet was the official who signed the contract on that date with a Lafayette-based company, DGL1, to provide the hunting and boating educational courses and the courses for those who want to have their minor violations dismissed.
The federal document said the company that made the payoffs “would receive a percentage of gross revenues earned through the provision of these services.”
The 2021 LDWF contract with DGL1 calls for the department to receive a percentage of the payments collected by the company.
The owner of DGL1, Leonard Franques IV, signed the contract along with Montoucet. He has not returned phone calls. Franques is also listed as the registered officer for Lake Wellness Center, which is among the companies used by the Lafayette District Attorney’s office for pre-trial diversion programs, which is at the center of a related set of allegations in the same federal investigation.
The Wildlife and Fisheries official was supposed to receive the kickback upon retirement and receive an all-terrain vehicle worth $14,000, the factual basis said. He, Guidry and the company owner met on Nov. 19, 2021, “to discuss concealing and disguising the payment of the bribe proceeds,” the factual basis said.
Check back for updates. This is a developing story.
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