LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - The former director of the housing authority in Lafayette and Opelousas has pleaded guilty to receiving bribes while running both agencies and for his role in a conspiracy to award bids to a preferred contractor.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley said 51-year-old Walter O. Guillory, of Lafayette, pleaded guilty last week before U.S. Disrict Judge Elizabeth Foote.
Finley’s office says Guillory solicited donations from various vendors for a baseball team he sponsored while head of the housing agencies. The vendors were expected to make yearly donations in exchange for doing business with the agencies. Officials say Guillory received more than $100,000 in bribes between 2006 and 2010.
Guillory also admitted conspiring with others to circumvent bid laws in order to award construction contracts to one company for work in Opelousas.
Guillory faces up to 10 years in prison for one count of receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds, and up to 20 years for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges also carry three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, forfeiture, and restitution.
Sentencing is set for June 11.
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