A former Department of Transportation employee was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $57,000 in restitution by a U.S. District Judge Thursday.
Three other people that court documents say were involved in inflating the price of contracts and splitting the profits were also sentenced.
Jeffery Martin Bentley, 52, of Muscadine, Alabama, was formerly an employee with the DOTD and was the project engineer for a project to widen I-10 in Jefferson Parish.
Court documents say that Bentley, and Albert F. Andre Jr., 53, of Slidell, discovered that up to $330,000 could be spent on pipe cleaning and they arranged to have the work done by a subcontractor for a lesser price, they could split the difference.
The documents state they used a company run by Harry Joseph Labiche and that after he was paid, they split the money.
A fourth defendant, identified as Jason Adrian Guy, was later recruited to approve the invoices, which would be paid by Boh Brothers.
In addition to Bentley’s sentence, Andre was given 30 months in prison and ordered to pay over $57,000 in restitution; while Guy was sentenced to six months in prison and a similar restitution.
Labiche, was previously sentenced and is serving a 27-month prison term.
