The mayor of New Orleans, Latoya Cantrell, was charged on Friday for the federal accusations of fraud the city while trying to keep his romantic relationships with a secret police officer, prosecutors said.
Cantrell is accused of conspiracy to commit fraud by wire, conspiracy to hinder justice, to make false declarations and false declarations before a large jury, according to a federal indictment filed Friday before the American district court of the eastern District of Louisiana.
Shortly after the news was announced, a cantrell lawyer told NBC News that they had not yet seen the indictment and had no comments.
Prosecutors allege that Cantrell was in a romantic relationship with Jeffrey Paul Vappie II, who sat in the protection unit of the leaders of the New Orleans police service from May 2021 to April 2024.
“To hide their relationships with detection and to maximize their time together, Cantrell and Vappie have exploited their public posts to develop and implement a regime to defraud the city of New Orleans and the New Orleans police service by engaging in personal activities while Vappie claimed to be in service and was paid,” said the accusation.
Vappie, already faced accusations of wire fraud and making false declarations. He pleaded not guilty. A great jury delivered an indictment of 18 chiefs on Friday who added Cantrell to the case.
He could not be joined immediately to comment on Friday afternoon.
The three -year pair of three -year fraud has exploited their public authority and its post, a press conference said on Friday.
The mayor and Vappie said that their relationship was strictly professional, but the indictment described it as “personal and intimate”.
Federal prosecutors allege that the two used the WhatsApp platform to exchange 15,000 messages, images and audio clips during a period of eight months. It was not immediately clear when the messages were sent.
Prosecutors say that Cantrell and Vappie also used the application to intimidate the subordinates, harass a citizen, delete evidence, lie to colleagues and commit a perjury in order to distract and empire in their actions.
Vappie accompanied Cantrell on 14 national and international trips to maximize their time together, said federal prosecutors.
For example, during a work trip to San Francisco in April 2022, the pair stayed an additional day to visit the vineyards of Napa Valley and Vappie said that they had worked 15 hours, prosecutors said.
In an SMS, Cantrell characterized their moments together as “moments when we are really alone” and as “what spoils me the most,” said prosecutors at the Friday’s press conference.
In total, New Orleans spent $ 70,000 on Vappie’s trips while he was with Cantrell, prosecutors said.
They developed a personal and intimate relationship until Vappie’s retirement in June 2024, they said.
Friday, the president of the municipal council of New Orleans, JP Morrell, offered prayers to Cantrell and his family.
“It’s a sad day for the inhabitants of New Orleans,” said Morell in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the cantrell family as they sail through this difficult period.”
Cantrell, a Democrat, is in his last mandate as mayor and is expected to leave office in January.
She is the first woman mayor of the city during her 300 years of history. His second mandate was turbulent, including surviving a recall effort in 2022.
