By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A Destrehan engineer who pled guilty to bribery charges involving former St. John the Baptist Parish President Bill Hubbard has been ordered to end his engineering practice in the state, according to a release from the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board.

The surveying board has revoked the engineering license of Ray Davezac following a consent order issued last month.

Davezac must immediately cease and desist practicing engineering in Louisiana and return his certificate of professional engineering licensure and professional engineering seal to the board.

Davezac was also ordered to pay $638.78 in administrative costs to the board.

He has voluntarily entered into an agreement with the board.

In the consent order, the board stated that Davezac violated La. R.S. 37:698(A)(3), which prohibits licensees from being convicted of or entering a guilty plea to a felony, being convicted of or entering a guilty plea to any criminal charge an element of which is fraud or which arises out of such licensee’s practice of engineering.

The board also said Davezac may have violated La. R.S. 37:698(A)(6), which prohibits a licensee from paying or offering to pay, directly or indirectly, any commission, gift or other valuable consideration in order to secure work.

In November 2010, Davezac pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans to conspiracy to commit bribery involving a public official. According to court documents from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, Davezac, owner of Davezac Consulting Engineers, paid $5,000 to a New Orleans automobile dealership to help Hubbard purchase a Toyota Camry for a girlfriend.

Davezac’s firm then received a contract from the parish in return.

Davezac was sentenced to six months in a halfway house as part of his guilty plea. He also had to pay a $20,000 fine.

Hubbard also pleaded guilty to bribery charges.

The contracts involved management of projects tied to the parish’s $29.5 million bond issue and overseeing the use of funds from the parish’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program.

Both contracts, which were awarded by the St. John Parish Council at Hubbard’s request, were terminated following Hubbard’s guilty plea.