New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell Indicted On Federal Fraud Charges 

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted on federal fraud charges Friday, alleging that she and former New Orleans Police Department officer Jeffrey Paul Vappie II spent $70,000 in city funds to conceal their romantic relationship.

According to NBC News, federal prosecutors charged Cantrell with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, and false declaration before a grand jury. Vappie’s assignment with the New Orleans Police Department’s Executive Protection Unit lasted from 2021 to 2024. Cantrell and Vappie told prosecutors that their relationship was professional, but the indictment frames it as “personal and intimate.”

Prosecutors allege the pair sent 15,000 messages, pictures, and audio clips over eight months on WhatsApp. In one such message, Cantrell told Vappie in a WhatsApp message that their trips are the “times when we are truly alone,” and are “what spoils me the most.” The pair allegedly used the app to delete evidence, intimidate witnesses, lie to co-workers, and impede the investigation into their relationship. 

“To hide their relations from detection and to maximize their time together, Cantrell and Vappie exploited their public positions to develop and implement a scheme to defraud the city of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department by engaging in personal activities while Vappie claimed to be on duty and was paid for,” the indictment states.

Cantrell and Vappie took a work trip to San Francisco but allegedly stayed an extra day to visit wineries in Napa Valley. Vappie allegedly logged the Napa trip as a 15-hour workday. It’s one thing to allegedly sleep with a married co-worker, but allegedly charging it to your job’s payroll is genuinely crazy work. 

“Allegedly” is going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting today, y’all.

Vappie was removed from the executive protection unit in 2022 due to such payroll irregularities, but Cantrell pushed for his reinstatement. Both LaToya Cantrell and Jeffrey Vappie were married throughout their affair. Vappie’s wife filed for divorce in 2022, alleging an inappropriate relationship with the mayor as the reason. Cantrell’s husband, lawyer Jason Cantrell, died in 2023. Suspicions about the nature of the relationship between Cantrell and Vappie took hold in 2023 when local news footage showed the pair spending time in a city-owned apartment. 

Should they be convicted, LaToya Cantrell and Jeffrey Vappie face up to five years for some of the charges and up to 20 years for others. 

While these are only allegations at the moment, and Cantrell is presumed innocent until proven guilty, this is genuinely absurd. Especially since this is not the first time LaToya Cantrell has faced controversy for improper use of public funds. While running for her first term as New Orleans mayor, Cantrell faced criticism for using a City Council credit card to pay for personal expenses and repaid nearly $9,000. 

LaToya Cantrell’s second term has been turbulent to say the least. In 2022, voters launched a failed recall effort against Cantrell due to concerns about her travel expenses, and polling conducted before the charges went public showed 65% of New Orleans residents felt the city was on the wrong track. 

Listen, I’m not here to judge the affair. I don’t know the ins and outs of their relationships, and quite frankly, it’s none of my business. I am here to judge the alleged use of public funds to fuel said affair. I’ve worked for city governments, and if I know one thing, it’s that they are serious about where every dollar is spent. Allegedly spending $70,000 in public funds is a surefire way to get yourself caught. Especially when New Orleans citizens are already mad that money isn’t being spent to improve failing infrastructure. 

If you want to engage in a torrid affair, do so on your own dollar, dangit. 

This whole situation is truly a shame. When LaToya Cantrell was first elected, she made history as the first woman mayor in New Orleans’ 300-year history. Now, as she leaves office, she makes history as the first sitting mayor indicted on federal charges in city history.

I sincerely hate to see it. 

SEE ALSO:

New Orleans Mayor Rips Affair Claim As ‘Bullsh*t’

LaToya Cantrell Remains ‘Focused’