New Orleans‘ Democrat mayor has been indicted in what prosecutors claim was a years-long scheme using taxpayer dollars to hide a romantic relationship with her bodyguard.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell was charged with federal counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction on Friday, less than five months before she leaves office due to term limits.
Prosecutors say her police officer bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, was being paid as if he was working when they met alone in apartments and spent $70,000 in city dollars to go on romantic trips.
They are also accused of exchanging encrypted messages through WhatsApp to avoid detection and then deleting the conversations.
The mayor, 53, and Vappie, 52, have said their relationship was strictly professional, but the indictment portrayed it as ‘personal and intimate.’
Cantrell and Vappie are accused of developing an intimate relationship as early as October 2021. Notably, Cantrell was married at the time, before her husband, attorney Jason Cantrell, died of a heart attack in 2023.
In a WhatsApp exchange, the indictment says, Vappie reminisced about accompanying Cantrell to Scotland in October 2021, saying that was ‘where it all started.’
Cantrell had told local reporters she needed a security detail ‘due to COVID,’ saying her travel accommodations were ‘a matter of safety, not of luxury.’
New Orleans’ Democrat Mayor LaToya Cantrell was charged with federal counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction on Friday
Prosecutors say the mayor and her bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, spent $70,000 in taxpayer dollars to go on romantic trips. The two were pictured cozying up at dinner while Vappie was on the clock in 2024
Cantrell’s husband, attorney Jason Cantrell, died of a heart attack in 2023 aged 55
The following year, instead of Cantrell attending a conference in Miami, authorities said the pair rendezvoused on Martha’s Vineyard. The city covered Vappie’s travel to the island to attend a separate conference.
‘The times when we are truly (traveling) is what spoils me the most,’ the mayor wrote to him that month.
That same year, they also visited several California wineries, according to the indictment.
After a ‘trusted staff member’ posted a photo of the three of them on social media, one of Cantrell’s associates asked them to remove it.
They met in an apartment while Vappie claimed to be on duty, and Cantrell arranged for him to attend 14 trips, Acting US Attorney Michael Simpson said. The trips, he added, were described by her as times ‘when they were truly alone.’
‘Public corruption has crippled us for years and years,’ Simpson said, referring to Louisiana’s notorious history. ‘And this is extremely significant.’
In April 2024, the pair were photographed enjoying a cozy dinner at a table with empty wine glasses during Vappie’s supposed working hours.
Cantrell appeared lost in his gaze and was snapped looking adoringly at her close protection officer throughout the intimate meal.
Surveillance footage that showed the pair spent hours together inside a city-owned apartment in the French Quarter
Cantrell and Vappie are accused of developing an intimate relationship as early as October 2021 while Cantrell was married. Her husband passed away in 2023
On the day the photo was taken, Vappie billed taxpayers for a full 12 hours of work – from 8am until 8pm.
Local news station Fox 8 found surveillance footage that showed the pair spent hours together inside a city-owned apartment in the French Quarter.
Vappie was already facing charges of wire fraud and making false statements. He has pleaded not guilty and retired from the police department in 2024.
A grand jury returned an 18-count indictment Friday that added Cantrell to the case.
Cantrell has not made a statement since the indictment, but she and her remaining allies have said that she has been unfairly targeted as a black woman and held to a different standard than male officials.
Simpson rejected the idea, telling reporters: ‘It’s irrelevant that it’s romance or that it’s female. [The allegations are] an incredible betrayal of people’s confidence in their own government.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the mayor’s office and the New Orleans Police Department for comment.
