The first woman mayor in New Orleans, charged with masking the relationship with the bodyguard and spending public money in personal interest
Latoya Cantrell, at a jazz festival, April 2025. Credit Line: Amy Harris / AP / Profimedia
The mayor of New Orleans, Latoya Cantrell, was charged on Friday for conspiracy, fraud and obstruction, because he had tried to hide a romantic relationship with his bodyguard, writes the American press.
Prosecutors claim that in October 2021, Canttrell and Jeffrey Vappie, her bodyguard, developed a “personal, intimate relationship,” said Michael Simpson, US interim prosecutor for Louisian's Eastern District.
Since Vappie's retirement in June 2024, the two “have set up a plan to fraud from New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department,” Simpson said at a press conference on Friday.
The indictment claims that Vappie was paid as if he were working when he and the mayor were alone in the apartments and traveling to the vineyards. Simpson said that Cantrell arranged for Vappie to participate in at least 14 internal and international trips to “optimize the time spent together and engage in personal activities”.
“In total, the city of New Orleans paid over $ 70,000 only for Vappie's trip on these trips,” Simpson said.
At that time, Cantrell said he invited a bodyguard to travel with her because of Covid-19 and for safety reasons, Simpson said.
The mayor's office did not respond immediately to the comment requests. It is not clear if Cantrell has a lawyer who represents it. Vappie is already experiencing accusations of electronic fraud and false statements and has pleaded innocent, Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors also accused Vappie and Canttrell of changing encrypted messages through WhatsApp to avoid detecting fraud and then deleted the conversations.
A citizen photographed Canttrell and Vappie together in public, lunch and consuming alcohol, while Vappie said he was during the service. Cantrell filed a complaint with the police and requested a restriction order against that citizen, prosecutors said.
“This accusation act does not claim that a relationship is a crime,” said Simpson. “Rather, he reflects the criminal prosecution of two civil servants accused of committing themselves into a continuous fraud scheme, who used public money for personal purposes, exploiting their power and authority.”
Cantrell is the first mayor of the city in her 300 -year history. Cantrell, a democrat, has a limited mandate and is about to leave the position in January.
