By Associated Press’s Jim Mustiano, Jack Brook, and Heather Hollingsworth
NEW ORLEANS (AP) In an investigation into claims that she attempted to conceal a love relationship with her bodyguard, a federal grand jury indicted New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction.
A protracted federal inquiry into the city’s first female mayor in its 300-year history has resulted in the indictment.
After being indicted on accusations of wire fraud and making false statements, Jeffrey Vappie, her bodyguard, entered a not guilty plea. He is charged with fabricating payroll documents to show he was on duty and concealing a love involvement with Cantrell. The trial for Vappie, who left the police force last year, is set for January.
Vappie and Cantrell have been charged by federal authorities with using an app to exchange encrypted communications in order to evade detection, then deleting the exchanges. Vappie and the mayor have stated that their relationship is solely professional.
We claim that it was a three-year fraud plan that took advantage of their positions and public authority, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson.
She made arrangements for Vappie to go on 14 excursions, according to Simpson, and they met in an apartment when Vappie claimed to be on duty. According to him, she portrayed the outings as moments when they were completely alone.
A close and personal bond was formed between Cantrell and Vappie in 2021. According to the indictment, Cantrell and Vappie used their official positions to create and carry out a scheme to defraud the city in order to conceal their relationship and make the most of their time together.
An email and phone call from The Associated Press asking for comment were not immediately answered by the mayor’s office.
Term-limited, Cantrell will step down in January. During a contentious second term, the Democrat has clashed with members of the City Council and has managed to withstand a recall attempt in 2022.
According to Monet Brignac, a spokesman for City Council President JP Morrell, “Today is a sad day for the people of New Orleans.” As the Cantrell family works through this trying time, our prayers and thoughts are with them.
Cantrell hasn’t posted anything on her official X (previously Twitter) page since July 15, when she claimed that crime in the city was at an all-time low.
Her civic prominence has diminished as Cantrell enters her last months in office, alienating allies and erstwhile confidants. Political watchers claim that her self-inflicted injuries and acrimonious disputes with an antagonistic city council overshadowed her early accomplishments. After the city’s charter was amended by voters to limit the mayor’s power, her position has become less important.
Cantrell and her surviving supporters claim that because she is a Black woman, she has been unfairly singled out and held to a different standard than male officials, and that her executive powers have been undermined. Cantrells stated earlier this year that she had received extremely rude, demeaning, and in certain situations, unthinkable treatment.
Reporting from Mission, Kansas, was Hollingsworth.
