The former state Wildlife and Fisheries commissioner from Lafayette who pleaded guilty in June 2011 to accepting almost a half-million dollars in bribes and illegal payoffs will be sentenced Dec. 19.
Henry Mouton, the Lafayette resident facing up to five years in prison for accepting almost $500,000 in illegal bribes from a landfill owner while serving on the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, will be sentenced Dec. 19.
As Nola.com reported Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed a motion this week requesting a six-nine month delay in Mouton's sentencing, which was initially set for Oct. 24. Prosecutors, in their motion, cited Mouton's "continued cooperation" in the sprawling corruption probe of River Birch Landfill and its owner Fred Heebe as the reason for seeking the delay.
The district judge presiding over the case in New Orleans has granted the prosecution's request for a delay, but not the six-nine months sought by the feds. Mouton will be sentenced in a little more than two months. According to Nola.com, the judge did not disclose why he granted a much shorter delay.
Mouton was indicted in February 2011 on a slew of corruption charges tied to his tenure as a W&F commissioner. The Lafayette resident accepted a plea agreement a few months later and admitted to using his position as a Wildlife and Fisheries commissioner to lobby public officials statewide in an attempt to keep the Old Gentilly Landfill closed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In return for his efforts, he received 170 checks totaling $463,970 from River Birch landfill owner Heebe.