Zuhair Hamed, Conspiracy to Bribe an Agent, Louisiana 2023

Two Gretna, Louisiana men were sentenced yesterday in federal court for their roles in a bribery scheme involving a convenience store owner and a local police chief.

Zuhair Hamed, 51, and Jihad Hatem Hamad, 27, both of Gretna, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Bribe an Agent of Local Government in Connection with a Program Receiving Federal Funds. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon handed down the sentences.

Hamed was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $3,000. Hamad received 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.

The case involved Hamad, the owner and operator of a convenience store in Harahan, Louisiana, who sought a permit to sell wine and hard liquor at his store. However, the police chief of the City of Harahan repeatedly stated that he would oppose the issuance of the permit because the convenience store was located within 300 feet of a church, a prohibited distance under Louisiana law and Harahan city ordinance.

According to court documents, 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 the permit. However, it was later revealed that the two men were not related.

The police chief considered the offer to provide campaign contributions in return for the liquor permit to be an attempt to bribe him and reported the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which initiated an investigation. Hamed was found to have met several times with the police chief, discussed the liquor permit, and offered payments in cash, by blank money order, or by business checks to the police chief’s campaign.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Eileen Gleason prosecuted the case.

Zuhair Hamed, 51, Gretna, Louisiana; Conspiracy to Bribe an Agent of Local Government in Connection with a Program Receiving Federal Funds; City and State: Gretna, Louisiana; Exact Date: March 2012; Sentence: 20 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $3,000.

Jihad Hatem Hamad, 27, Gretna, Louisiana; Conspiracy to Bribe an Agent of Local Government in Connection with a Program Receiving Federal Funds; City and State: Gretna, Louisiana; Exact Date: March 2012; Sentence: 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.

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