BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet resigned Friday morning, according to the agency.
The Advocate reported Thursday that Montoucet allegedly arranged to take a payoff upon retirement from a Youngsville man as part of a kickback plan. The information that an unnamed official made such a deal was referenced in the federal investigation and plea deal. A records request yielded a document signed by Montoucet, who was not accused of a crime.
He was appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards in January 2017. The Scott native previously served in the state House of Representatives and once owned an alligator farming business.
Edwards named Deputy Secretary Robert Shadoin as the new secretary, according to the governor’s office Friday afternoon.
A portion of Montoucet’s resignation letter reads:
“It has been my greatest honor to serve the people of our state since being appointed in 2017. We are the Sportsman’s Paradise and I have protected this precious resource, while opening it up to fisherman and hunters throughout the world . This is a job I honorably performed, resulting in increased revenue for the department and decreased costs for our taxpayers. Under my leadership, we have created programs to allow greater access to the department for people who needed our services or to make restitution for violating our regulations and requirements.”
He said he intends on spending time working with young entrepreneurs and advocating for French language education for children in the state.
Read his full letter below.
