Lafayette man faces largest-ever state ethics fine

Four years after being charged with violating Louisiana ethics laws, Lafayette businessman Greg Gachassin and his Cartesian Company have been found guilty and assessed the largest fine in state history, $1.56 million.

The three-judge Louisiana Ethics Adjudicatory Board released its decision Wednesday after weighing the evidence and arguments following a hearing in April. The Louisiana Board of Ethics originally charged Gachassin and the Cartesian Company in 2012.

The violations stem from Gachassin's time serving as a volunteer on the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority board of trustees from Aug. 19, 2003, until he resigned Nov. 17, 2009. He was chairman from April 6, 2007, until his resignation.

The Ethics Adjudicatory Board wrote in its 44-page decision that Gachassin and Cartesian violated the state ethics code by contracting with an agency of the LPTFA while Gachassin was chairman of the LPTFA, a public trust whose beneficiary is the city of Lafayette.

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