Two Gretna men have been sentenced for their roles in a bribery conspiracy involving a Harahan police chief, according to a recent court ruling.
51-year-old Zuahir Hamed and 27-year-old Jihad Hatem Hamad, both residents of Gretna, Louisiana, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon on their guilty pleas to Conspiracy to Bribe an Agent of Local Government in Connection with a Program Receiving Federal Funds.
Hamed was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of $3,000. Hamad was sentenced to six months imprisonment followed by six months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, 50 hours of community service, and a $100 special assessment.
According to court documents, Hamad was the owner and operator of a convenience store located in Harahan, Louisiana. Hamad was seeking a permit allowing the sale of wine and hard liquor at his store, but the police chief of the City of Harahan repeatedly stated that he would oppose the issuance of such permit because the convenience store was located within 300 feet of a church, a prohibited distance under Louisiana law and Harahan city ordinance.
In March 2012, Hamad told the police chief that his father was a wealthy man who would be willing to make a contribution to the police chief’s political campaign in exchange for approval of a permit to sell wine and hard liquor at the convenience store. The police chief stated that he thought he knew Hamad’s father, who had owned a convenience store on Martin Luther King Boulevard in New Orleans. However, the two men were not related.
Consequently, the police chief considered the offer to provide him with campaign contributions in return for the liquor permit to be an attempt to bribe him. Therefore, the police chief reported the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which initiated an investigation of the matter.
Charges were filed against Hamed and Hamad due to their involvement in the bribery conspiracy. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Eileen Gleason.
It’s clear that the defendants thought they could buy their way to a liquor permit, but ultimately, their attempt at bribery backfired and they are now facing time behind bars. The incident serves as a reminder that public corruption will not be tolerated and those who engage in such activity will face the full force of the law.
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