BATON ROUGE — A grand jury indicted the former head of the region's groundwater commission, an assistant director at BREC and another man on allegations that they conspired to bypass state purchasing laws.

Gary Beard and Oscar "Reed" Richard were accused of one count each of malfeasance in office, monopolizing trade or commerce, and conspiracy. Jason Hewitt is accused of two counts of conspiracy, two counts of monopolizing trade and two counts of being a principal to malfeasance in office.

Hewitt held contracts with the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District and with BREC, and prosecutors allege the pacts were intended to restrict competition.

Beard is the former director of the groundwater commission, Richard is the assistant superintendent at BREC System Planning and Hewitt works for Sustainability Partners, whose website bills it as a company dedicated to helping fund and maintain "essential infrastructure."

A source told WBRZ on Wednesday that Sustainability Partners had entered a deal with BREC in which it proposed to erect lighting at a sports complex and then maintain it for an ongoing fee — without going through normal capital improvement requirements set by the state.

"They would invest whatever million dollars without (BREC) putting any money in and we would pay them X-dollars a month for doing that," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. "That's bypassing state procedures."

The nature of any Sustainability Partners work with the groundwater commission wasn't immediately known.

For five decades, the groundwater district has regulated the area's aquifer in an attempt to control saltwater intrusion. It was funded by fees imposed on those who withdrew large amounts of water — farmers, water companies and industrial plants. Lawmakers this year placed the groundwater district under the state Department of Conservation and Energy.

The agency's most recent audit, dated last summer, said the district did not properly monitor whether it was collecting all it should in pumpage fee revenue, and auditors suggested the agency explore ways to validate self-reported amounts.

Auditors also expressed concern over how the district handled agency credit cards and said in 2024 it didn't properly advertise its annual budget.

In its response to the audit report, the agency said it had addressed the concerns raised.