(Citizens For A New Louisiana Editorial Staff) – For several years, Citizens for a New Louisiana has followed the federal public corruption investigation centered on the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. From identifying the first publicly known co-conspirator, to examining the expanding scope of the investigation, to analyzing the significance of Dusty Guidry’s plea agreement and later reporting on the indictment of former Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet, we have documented the story as it unfolded. Now, one chapter has come to an end.

After a nine-day federal jury trial in September 2025, former Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes was convicted on all six counts charged in the indictment, including conspiracy to commit federal-program bribery, bribery, use of interstate facilities in aid of bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of justice. In December 2025, U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph sentenced Haynes to seven years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and imposed a $200,000 fine. Those facts have been widely reported. What has not been readily available is the complete trial record.

That changes today.

Trial Transcript

Citizens for a New Louisiana is making the complete official trial transcript — more than 1,700 pages across nine volumes — available so anyone interested can read the testimony exactly as it was presented to the jury.

News articles necessarily condense days of testimony into a few paragraphs. They highlight key moments, summarize witness testimony, and report the verdict. Trial transcripts, on the other hand, preserve the proceedings exactly as they occurred. They contain the direct examinations, cross-examinations, objections, rulings from the bench, opening statements, closing arguments, and countless details that never make their way into traditional news coverage. Whether one agrees with the jury’s verdict or not, there is no substitute for the primary source.

Readers will find testimony from District Attorney Don Landry, FBI agents involved in “Operation Cajun Hustle,” cooperating witnesses including Dusty Guidry, former employees of the District Attorney’s Office, PTI vendors, financial witnesses, and numerous others. The transcripts also preserve the arguments presented by both the prosecution and the defense before the jury ultimately returned unanimous guilty verdicts on all six counts.

The Public Deserves to Know

Our purpose in publishing these transcripts is not to tell readers what conclusions they should reach. Others have already offered summaries and commentary. Instead, we believe the public is best served by access to the record itself. That has been and continues to be our mission at Citizens for a New Louisiana: to provide the public with facts supported by self-authenticating public records.

Courts conduct criminal trials in public for a reason. Public confidence in our system of justice depends not only upon the verdict reached, but upon the public’s ability to examine the process that produced it. These proceedings are part of the historical record of one of the most significant public corruption prosecutions ever to arise from the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

For researchers, attorneys, journalists, students, and citizens interested in understanding the case beyond the headlines, the complete transcripts provide that opportunity. Obtaining and publishing trial transcripts is neither automatic nor inexpensive. We believe preserving public access to the official record is worth the effort.

Below are links to each volume of the official trial transcript.

• September 8, 2025 – Opening Arguments
• September 9, 2025 – Testimony by 15th Judicial District Attorney Don Landry and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Doug Herman
• September 10, 2025 – Testimony of Doug Herman continued. Additional testimony by FBI Special Agent Jeffery Goins, Zoila Perez, and Bradley Zaunbrecher.
• September 11, 2025 – Testimony by Dusty Guidry
• September 12, 2025 – Testimony of Dusty Guidry continued. Additional testimony from Jessica Broussard, Vanessa Bob, Silva Mier, and Emilia Pardo.
• September 15, 2025 – Testimony by Doug Herman, Holly Deshotel, Lance Beal, Glynn Shelly Maturin, III, Katie Colvin, Olga Hebert, Eric Neuman, and Alfred Boustany, III.
• September 16, 2025 – Testimony by Grady Abraham, Christopher Nelson, Randal Menard, Sonia Anderson, Zoila Perez, Josh Guillory, Michelle Odinet, Chad Vallo, Chris Quebedeaux, Susan Austin, and Vanessa Bobb.
• September 17, 2025 – Testimony by Perry Nicosia, Dusty Guidry, and Doug Herman.
• September 18, 2025 – Closing Arguments.
• December 12, 2025 – Sentencing of Gary Haynes

Previous Citizens for a New Louisiana Coverage

As this investigation developed, Citizens for a New Louisiana published several articles examining the allegations, guilty pleas, and expanding scope of the federal investigation:

• BREAKING: Co-Conspirator Identified
• It’s Bigger Than You Expected
• We Told You So: Jack Montoucet Indicted in Federal Bribery Scandal
• Power Corrupts: The Dusty Guidry Plea Deal

Together, these articles trace the path from the earliest public revelations of the investigation to the conviction and sentencing of Gary Haynes, preserving the chronology of one of the most significant public corruption cases in recent Lafayette history.