An investigative report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office into the removal in 2022 of a spoil bank on the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish concludes former Lafayette City-Parish President Josh Guillory and his administration likely violated state and federal laws and Lafayette's Home Rule Charter, including public bid laws.
"The evidence supports a consistent pattern," the auditor's report states. "LCG deliberately structured 'Apollo' (the spoil bank project's codename) to proceed as quickly and quietly as possible, minimizing opportunities for regulatory review or legal challenge, even when it meant disregarding federal law."
The report and its findings have been sent to District Attorney Don Landry of the 15th Judicial District in Lafayette and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District in Lafayette.
The Legislative Auditor's report recommends changes that Lafayette Consolidated Government should make to avoid a repeat of the alleged violations, although Guillory is no longer in office.
In February of 2022, under the Guillory administration, LCG removed a spoil bank on the St. Martin Parish side of the Vermilion River allegedly for flood protection purposes without permission from St. Martin Parish officials, the Corps of Engineers and a landowner.
Six weeks after awarding a $390,050 as-needed excavation contract to Rigid Constructors in December of 2021, LCG amended the contract for Rigid to perform the $3.7 million spoil bank project without seeking new bids. The amendment was signed three days before the work began and after some equipment had already been mobilized, which constituted about $1.8 million of the contract, the report states.
"Our investigative audit determined that LCG executed this project without securing the required legal authority, land rights, or permits — raising significant legal, regulatory, and intergovernmental concerns," the report states.
"Specifically," the report continues, "LCG expended public funds outside of its jurisdiction without a joint service agreement or cooperative endeavor agreement, as required by its Home Rule Charter and Louisiana law; performed work on land that LCG did not fully own, without documented consent from a known co-owner; failed to obtain a local permit from St. Martin Parish Government; withdrew its federal permit application from USACE but proceeded with the project regardless."
LCG may have obstructed a navigable waterway in possible violation of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, the report states, and may have performed work within wetlands without a permit from the Corp as required by the federal Clean Water Act.
Former City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan countered that the spoil bank project was within the scope of the original Rigid bid. The auditor's report quotes a public bid law attorney hired by LCG who said the work was outside the scope of the original contract, which was for excavation work throughout Lafayette city and parish, not in another parish.
In addition, the scope of the spoil bank project was outside the original excavation contract because it required additional equipment and the removal of a spoil bank in St. Martin Parish and construction of an engineered levee in Lafayette Parish, the report states.
The Guillory administration, the auditor continues, alleges the work was done under an emergency procurements clause, but LCG declared a weather emergency nine months prior, in May of 2021.
LCG violated its Home Rule Charter and state law by spending tax dollars on a project in another parish without an agreement with that parish, even if the project benefited Lafayette Parish residents, the report states.
Lafayette also erred, the auditor writes, by not obtaining permission from a one-third owner of the St. Martin Parish property. LCG purchased land from two of the three owners, but apparently did not approach the third owner before removing the spoil bank, allowing the river to flood the property.
The two-thirds purchase of the property that LCG bought was dated the day the spoil bank removal started, Feb. 21, 2022, the report alleges. Sale documents weren't filed with the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court until March 9, 2022.
The property owner sued LCG, which settled the lawsuit under the current administration, paying about three times the property's fair market value, the report states.
Logan and the public works director both denied giving the spoil bank project the go-ahead, laying the blame on the former chief of staff, Michael Hicks, who had been on the job only seven weeks and told investigators he was still learning the names of people in the administration and was not in a position to lead a multi-million dollar project designed before he was hired.
Hicks, the report states, said Guillory code-named the spoil bank removal project Apollo and said it was very secretive because Guillory was afraid St. Martin Parish officials would find out and file an injunction to stop the work.
He allegedly provided emails, copied in the auditor's report, showing approval from Guillory and Logan to proceed with the spoil bank removal.
Logan, the report alleges, tried to remove himself from the decision to proceed by claiming the email, time-stamped 5:01 p.m., means it was "after hours" and too late for him to act.
The secrecy about the project "reinforces the conclusion that LCG acted with the intent to avoid public scrutiny and regulatory intervention," the auditor wrote.
Lafayette violated a St. Martin Parish ordinance, the auditor alleges, that requires a permit to conduct levee work. Lafayette did not obtain such a permit. Logan, the report alleges, said the ordinance was unconstitutional even though no court had declared it so.
LCG had applied for a Corps permit for the project to discharge fill or dredged material into wetlands or waters, the audit states. Officials withdrew the application and the Corps noted a permit would be required for the project.
Then-Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux told investigators that when Guillory realized the Corps permit would be denied he decided to buy the property in St. Martin Parish and instructed the contractor that all work was to be done in upland areas so as not to impact navigable waters or wetlands.
Months later, the report states, a Corps inspector found evidence that equipment had been driven into wetlands and debris from dredging appeared to have been released into wetlands, despite efforts to prevent it.
LCG's handling of the project "reflects a breakdown in regulatory compliance, internal oversight, and respect for intergovernmental coordination. LCG’s knowingly assumption of legal risk, followed by its decision to pay significantly above market value for the land where the spoil bank was originally located, underscores serious deficiencies in public accountability, legal judgment, and financial stewardship," the report concludes.
The legislative auditor's office recommends that LCG:
- Implement jurisdictional review procedures.
- Mandate permit compliance documentation.
- Strengthen property acquisition controls.
- Enforce intergovernmental agreement protocols.
- Establish legal risk review process.
- Conduct staff training on legal boundaries.
Three pages of the report are dedicated to countering attacks by Guillory in his 25-page response to the investigative audit findings in which he alleges political bias, misconduct and weaponization of oversight, calling the auditor "a hitman for the elite."
Guillory, Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack, wrote, calls the position "political prostitution" and tries to link it to former Governors Huey Long and Earl Long. The two left office before the Legislative Auditor's Office was created in 1964.
The former mayor-president, he continued, presents ordinary professional interactions as evidence of misconduct on the part of the LLA, calling into question the reliability of Guillory's response to the audit findings.
Guillory, Waguespack wrote, declined the LLA's offer to be interviewed in conjunction with the investigation. Guillory responded to a follow-up text message seeking an interview by writing, "I have been asked to turn my attention to what I consider are false, unbased claims and allegations wafted for political purposes."
The LLA findings and responses from Guillory, Logan and current LCG officials can be found at https://lla.la.gov/reports/audit-reports.