LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - Former St. Landry Parish School Board Member Quincy Richard will be sentenced for his federal bribery convictions Feb. 4.
Richard was found guilty of bribery, aiding and abetting bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery Aug. 20 after a jury took 40 minutes to decide he was complicit in the solicitation of a bribe from a superintendent candidate in September 2012. The Daily World reports (https://bit.ly/1a40xch ) U.S. District Judge Richard Haik in Lafayette denied a subsequent motion for acquittal.
Along with fellow former school board member John Miller, Richard spent the summer of 2012 meeting with Assistant Superintendent Joseph Cassimere, who was then serving as the interim superintendent, in an attempt to solicit money from Cassimere in exchange for votes in the then-upcoming superintendent selection. Cassimere was one of five candidates for the position.
Cassimere informed the FBI of his meetings with Miller and Richard and he began collecting audio of his meetings. The conspiracy culminated in a Sept. 24 sting operation, during which Cassimere paid both $5,000 in FBI-provided money while agents recorded the transaction at the Quarters Casino and Travel Plaza.
Miller pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in a plea bargain July 1, in which he agreed to testify against Richard and resign from the school board in exchange for dropping the bribery and aiding and abetting bribery charges.
Richard faces up to 10 years in prison for each the bribery and aiding and abetting convictions and five years for the conspiracy.
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Information from: The Daily World, https://www.dailyworld.com
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