District attorney requests Guillory’s administration provide documents related to LUS investigation
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- Fifteenth Judicial District Attorney Keith Stutes has asked the Lafayette mayor -president’s office for audit documents and internal investigation materials related to LUS/LUS Fiber.
On Feb. 7, 2020, Stutes sent a letter to Lafayette-Mayor President Josh Guillory asking for the same LUS/LUS Fiber documents Guillory asked to be investigated by State Police the week before.
The new mayor-president’s request for a law enforcement investigation came on Feb. 6., hours after he said on his on weekly KPEL show that LUS was “raided” in fall 2019 and an undisclosed number of employees were placed on administrative leave.
“I consider your notice to be the filing of a complaint directly with this office,” Stutes wrote in his letter to Guillory the following day.
In a statement released to media Wednesday, Guillory’s administration said it intends to comply with the DA’s request.
“My administration will fully comply with the District Attorney’s request for documents and materials related to any investigation and inquiry of LUS and LUS Fiber,” Guillory’s statement to news outlets said. “We understand and respect the District Attorney’s authority in this matter and we seek a prompt and appropriate legal resolution.”
Guillory’s Feb. 6 request for a State Police investigation claims LUS/LUS Fiber documents, including thousands of emails, many have been destroyed “in an attempt to cover up a crime.”
The request specifically names former LUS director Terry Huval.
The mayor-president’s administration claims Lafayette City-Parish Attorney Gregory Logan did notify the DA’s office of the request for the State Police investigation, citing is required by Louisiana Revised Statute 24:523.
On Wednesday, Guillory ended his statement about Stutes’ letter with the following: “The ultimate goal is to identify and correct the administrative and operational weaknesses that have allowed for questionable, financial support and illegal subsidization between LUS and LUS Fiber, so that we may transition both entities to lawful and financially healthy operations.”