INDReporter

Ex-wildlife official to be sentenced for payoffs

by Walter Pierce

Henry Mouton of Lafayette faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former Louisiana wildlife official is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for his guilty plea to a charge he accepted payoffs from a landfill company owner's businesses as a reward for trying to keep rival landfills closed.

Henry Mouton of Lafayette faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman. Justice Department prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence for Mouton but argue he deserves some leniency for cooperating with a broader probe that fizzled.

Mouton allegedly received nearly $464,000 in bribes during his tenure as a wildlife commissioner. The company owner accused of paying Mouton wasn't identified, but his indictment said he touted River Birch landfill.

In March, prosecutors dropped a fraud case against River Birch executive Dominick Fazzio and his brother-in-law.