Destrehan engineer has license revoked

Pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery

The Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board has revoked the engineering license of Ray Davezac, who pled guilty last year to conspiracy to commit bribery involving a public official.

Davezac, of Destrehan, paid $5,000 to a car dealership to benefit former St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard and received a contract from the parish in return, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. The money was reportedly used by Hubbard to purchase a vehicle for his girlfriend.

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.

The state’s Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board issued a consent order in November that 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 also had to pay $638.78 in administrative costs to the board.

He voluntarily entered into the agreement.

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

Davezac was most recently hired by St. Charles Parish in 2007 to perform engineering on the Cousins Pump station bar screen cleaners at a cost of $360,000.

Another Davezac company, Plan Review and Inspection LLC, was in charge of performing inspections on all of the parish’s engineering contracts.

Plan Review and Inspection’s contract was extended by the Parish Council in 2007 until July 2010, but Davezac sold the company after he was charged with bribing Hubbard.