NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted Friday in what prosecutors called a yearslong scheme to hide a romantic relationship with her bodyguard, who is accused of being paid as if he was working even when they met alone in apartments and traveled to vineyards for wine tasting.
The federal grand jury indicted Cantrell on conspiracy, fraud and obstruction charges, less than five months before she leaves office due to term limits. The first female mayor in New Orleans' 300-year history has now become the city's first mayor to be charged while in office.
“Public corruption has crippled us for years and years,” Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson said, referring to Louisiana's notorious history. “And this is extremely significant.”
Cantrell's bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, was already facing charges of wire fraud and making false statements. He's pleaded not guilty. A grand jury returned an 18-count indictment Friday that added Cantrell to the case.
They're accused of exchanging encrypted messages through an app to avoid detection and then deleting the conversations. The mayor and Vappie have said their relationship is strictly professional.
In 2021, “Cantrell and Vappie developed a personal and intimate relationship. To hide their relationship and to maximize their time together, Cantrell and Vappie exploited their public positions to develop and implement a scheme to defraud” the city, the indictment states.
They met in an apartment while Vappie claimed to be on duty, and she arranged for Vappie to attend 14 trips, Simpson said. The trips, he added, were described by her as times “when they were truly alone."
Simpson said Cantrell lied in an affidavit that she activated a function on her phone that automatically deleted messages in 2021 when she really didn’t active that feature until 2022, a month after the media began speculating on the pair’s conduct.
When a private citizen took photos of them dining together and drinking wine, Cantrell filed a police report and sought a restraining order, he said.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a phone message or email from The Associated Press seeking comment on the charges.
Cantrell and her remaining allies have said that she’s been unfairly targeted as a Black woman and held to a different standard than male officials, her executive powers sabotaged.
Simpson, however, shook off claims that race and gender played a role in the investigation.
“It’s irrelevant that it’s romance or that it’s female,” he told reporters, adding that the allegations were “an incredible betrayal of people’s confidence in their own government.”
Cantrell, a Democrat, has clashed with City Council members during a turbulent second term and survived a recall effort in 2022.
“This is a sad day for the people of New Orleans,” said Monet Brignac, a spokesperson for City Council President JP Morrell. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cantrell family as they navigate through this difficult time.”
Cantrell hasn’t sent out a message on her official feed on X, formerly known as Twitter, since July 15, when she said the city was experiencing historic declines in crime.
As she heads into her final months in office, Cantrell has alienated former confidants and supporters, and her civic profile has receded. Her early achievements were eclipsed by self-inflicted wounds and bitter feuds with a hostile city council, political observers say. The mayor’s role has weakened following voter-approved changes to the city’s charter meant to curb her authority.
Earlier this year, Cantrell said she’s faced “very disrespectful, insulting, in some cases kind of unimaginable” treatment.
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Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.
Jim Mustian, Jack Brook And Heather Hollingsworth, The Associated Press
