BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Perjury charges against former Louisiana Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein were dropped Friday by Attorney General Jeff Landry, ending the 2014 criminal case stemming from a now-canceled $200 million state Medicaid contract.
Two lawyers reviewed the case for Landry and determined “there are deficiencies in the evidence indicating the state cannot meet its burden of proof and obtain a conviction that could be sustained,” Brandon Fremin, director of the attorney general’s criminal division, wrote in court documents.
The criminal case began under Landry’s predecessor, Buddy Caldwell.
Greenstein, a one-time appointee of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, was indicted by a grand jury in September 2014 on nine perjury charges.
He was accused of lying to a state legislative committee and a grand jury about the award of the Medicaid claims processing contract that went to Client Network Services Inc., known as CNSI, where Greenstein once worked as vice president.
“My family and I are relieved to bring this painful chapter to a close, and I am thankful to Attorney General Landry for his willingness to conduct the fresh and objective review of the facts that led to today’s vindication,” Greenstein, now living in Seattle, said in a statement.
CNSI was chosen for the 10-year Medicaid claims processing contract in 2011. The Jindal administration voided the deal in 2013 and accused Greenstein of inappropriate contact with the company throughout the bid process.
The Jindal administration said Greenstein exchanged hundreds of phone calls and thousands of text messages with CNSI during the bid process, creating an unfair advantage for the firm.
Greenstein resigned a week after the contract was canceled, a move he said was forced by Jindal’s chief of staff. But the former health secretary denied any effort to steer the contract to his former employer.
The contract sparked controversy as soon as CNSI was chosen, with state lawmakers questioning Greenstein’s involvement.
But the Jindal administration proceeded with the deal until a federal subpoena seeking information about the contract award became public. At the time, Jindal was weighing a Republican presidential bid. His later campaign for the White House was unsuccessful.
CNSI is suing the state for wrongful termination, saying it did nothing inappropriate to win the contract.
In his statement, Greenstein said he was proud of his tenure leading the Department of Health and Hospitals. But he added that he was “disappointed that politics tarnished those achievements and stood in the way of doing more.”
Landry’s office wouldn’t offer further comment about the case dismissal, citing the pending civil litigation involving the contract.
No other charges besides the perjury counts against Greenstein ever came from the investigation led by Caldwell’s office.
Louisiana hasn’t hired a new company to process bills for the services rendered to Medicaid patients since firing CNSI, instead continuing the contract for the company CNSI was hired to replace. Lawmakers have raised concerns about the contract extensions’ costs.
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