A former Louisiana prison warden has pleaded guilty to federal fraud and conspiracy charges.
“He’ll pay for it … prison time will be recommended under the [federal] guidelines,” said David Joseph, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. “And he will pay restitution for the crimes.”
Cain, 51, faced 17 counts of wire fraud and a single count of conspiracy, reported theadvocate.com. He is former warden of Avoyelles Correctional Center, which has since been renamed the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center,
The charges stem from transactions that may amount to as much as $150,000 for the purchases of personal use items like guns, accessories, flat screen TVs, Yeti coolers, toilet paper, coffee and building supplies for the construction of a new house on prison grounds, according to the article Tonia Bandy, Cain’s former wife and fellow prison employee, had already pled guilty to unspecified charges in the case. She was scheduled to take the stand along with Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc; both were expected to testify against Cain.
Cain resigned in 2016. He pleaded guilty at the last minute, prior to Bandy and LeBlanc taking the stand, to two counts that “pertained only to purchases of gun and gun accessories, which amounted to less than $1,000,” according to Cain’s attorney, John McLindon, “Cain admitted to those limited purchases and apologized to taxpayers.”
“Even though he’s only pleaded to two counts, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the judge to consider the en- tire scheme,” Dane Ciolino, a professor at Loyola Law School, told the advocate reporter. “The odds are the judge is going to use a larger number; that’s the way it usually happens.”
