Former New Orleans' Mayor Uncle released from prison early

Glenn Haydel, uncle of former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial has been released from a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla., to a halfway house in Lafayette.

Haydel, 62, who pleaded guilty to bilking the Regional Transit Authority of $550,000, is scheduled to be discharged for good March 25, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Once moved to halfway houses, inmates are often released well ahead of their scheduled release dates, meaning Haydel could be free by the end of the year.

Ironically, Haydel's wife, Lillian Smith Haydel, could be headed to prison just as her husband is released. Smith Haydel, who pleaded guilty more than two years ago to bribing a New Orleans public schools official in exchange for insurance contracts, is set to be sentenced for that crime Oct. 31.
However, she is likely to receive lenient treatment because she agreed to testify against other insurance brokers who made similar payments.

Glenn Haydel had a lucrative consulting contract with the RTA during Morial's eight-year tenure as mayor. He pleaded guilty to transferring $350,000 of the agency's money into a personal bank account. Another $200,000 was paid in six checks to unnamed individuals and businesses "to facilitate the illusion of legitimacy," according to his indictment.

Haydel paid the stolen money back shortly before turning himself in to federal prison officials in November.

Haydel's release date was moved up mainly because he completed a drug treatment program at the Pensacola camp that allows inmates to shave up to 12 months off their sentences, according to Felicia Ponce, a Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman.

Haydel also received credit for "good time," which can reduce a well-behaved inmate's sentence by about two months per year, Ponce said.

The federal records show that Haydel is in the custody of the community corrections management office of New Orleans. He is staying at the City of Faith facility in Lafayette, according to an employee who answered the phone there.

The essence of Marc Morial: He has relatives either being released from prison or going to prison. He has friends and associates going to prison. His administration was filled with corrupt individuals. Does former Mayor Marc Morial deal with anyone who is a law abiding citizen?