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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted Friday on federal charges alleging she carried on an “intimate relationship” with a taxpayer-funded security guard and conspired to defraud the city of more than $70,000, according to a superseding indictment unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The 18-count indictment accuses Cantrell, 53, and former New Orleans Police Department Officer Jeffrey Vappie of conspiracy, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, making false statements and making false declarations before a grand jury.
“Our office is aware of the indictment that was filed today against Mayor LaToya Cantrell,” City Councilman JP Morrell’s spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is a sad day for the people of New Orleans. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cantrell family as they navigate through this difficult time.”
“Everyone is presumed innocent under the law. Mayor Cantrell deserves that presumption,” City Councilman Joe Giarrusso wrote on X. “This unfortunately will be sensationalized because it involves the Mayor and will further impede the City’s operations. We should, however, let the facts play out and not rush to judgment.”
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Mayor LaToya Cantrell became the first sitting New Orleans mayor to face criminal charges after a federal indictment was unsealed Friday. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)
Prosecutors say the pair “developed a personal and intimate relationship” in or around October 2021 and concealed it “to maximize their time together” while exploiting their official positions for personal benefit.
“In total, Vappie’s trips with Cantrell cost the City of New Orleans over $70,000, separate from Cantrell’s own travel costs,” the indictment states.
Federal prosecutors say those trips, at least 14 in all, included travel to Los Angeles; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Scotland, with Vappie falsely claiming on time sheets he was working in his role on the mayor’s Executive Protection Unit while engaging in personal activities.
The indictment alleges she was warned by an associate to end the relationship, saying “It is A FELONY to have your lover be paid to work and have his travel paid for by the city. That Nashville mayor had to pay back like 50k AND serve 3 yrs probation. She is done! Please don’t let this be your path LaToya!!!”
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Screenshots from a June 11, 2022, WhatsApp exchange, included in a superseding federal indictment, show New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell displaying a ring and asking, “Hey did you tell [redacted] you put a ring on it?” (Department of Justice)
The indictment alleges that “during shifts Vappie claimed to be on duty for EPU, he frequently spent time inside the Pontalba Apartment both with Cantrell and alone.” Federal prosecutors say this was part of a broader scheme to conceal the pair’s personal relationship while billing the city for on-duty hours. Around the same time, Vappie’s wife filed for divorce, citing the alleged relationship in court filings, according to local reports.
A unit in the Pontalba Apartments, a historic city-owned property in the French Quarter, has long been considered a ceremonial perk of the mayor’s office, used to host visiting dignitaries, Mardi Gras festivities and other official functions, not as a permanent residence.
The indictment also details personal messages the pair allegedly exchanged via WhatsApp, including a June 11, 2022, photo Cantrell sent to Vappie of a ring on her finger with the caption, “Hey did you tell [them] you put a ring on it?”. In another message, Cantrell allegedly wrote, “The times when we are truly alone (traveling) is what spoils me the most”.
Prosecutors further allege Cantrell tried to cover up the relationship by deleting messages, activating a setting to make them disappear within 24 hours and lying under oath to a federal grand jury about turning over all requested evidence, withholding more than 50 photos from her personal devices.
Mayor Cantrell is no stranger to controversy after weathering a failed recall effort in 2022 organized by New Orleanians, including a former staffer of hers. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Cantrell’s tenure had already been marked by public controversy, most recently over a French Quarter trash dispute. She terminated IV Waste’s sanitation contract, widely praised for its cleaning services, in favor of a personally-connected firm via an emergency declaration, sparking backlash from City Council officials and a filing from the Louisiana Attorney General condemning the move as an “abuse of emergency powers.”
Cantrell, first elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021, has previously faced multiple ethics complaints. Her indictment could significantly alter the city’s political landscape ahead of the October 2025 mayoral race. City Councilwoman Helena Moreno is widely considered the frontrunner. Fox News Digital has reached out to Moreno for comment but has not yet received a response.
In an unrelated 2022 incident, Mayor Cantrell made headlines when she stepped into a physical altercation in a ladies’ room at a Rob49 rap concert at the Fillmore NOLA. Footage showed her diffusing a tense standoff; her communications director at the time praised her for intervening, calling it living her motto: “if you see something, do something.”
Also in 2022, activist and former Cantrell staffer Eileen Carter and community figure Belden “Noonie Man” Batiste launched a recall campaign claiming the mayor had “failed to put New Orleans first and execute the responsibilities of the position.” Despite submitting tens of thousands of signatures, organizers fell well short. According to Ballotpedia, about 67,000 signatures were submitted, but only 27,243 were validated, far below the nearly 45,000 required for triggering a recall election.
Cantrell, the first female mayor in the city’s more than 300-year history, is now its first sitting mayor to face criminal charges.
If found guilty, the potential maximum penalties are up to five years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud; up to 20 years per count for wire fraud; up to 20 years for conspiracy to obstruct justice; up to five years for Vappie’s false-statement charge; up to 20 years for Cantrell’s obstruction charge; and up to five years per count for Cantrell’s false-declaration charges.
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The two could also face up to $250,000 in fines per count, a $100 special assessment per count and up to three years of supervised release on each count.
The Office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.