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The New Orleans Mayor has been indicted on federal charges tied to an alleged scheme to misuse more than $70,000 in taxpayer funds to maintain a secret romantic relationship with her police bodyguard. 

According to court filings, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the city’s first female leader, allegedly used her office to “maximize” time with bodyguard Jeffrey Paul Vappie II.

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Alleged Romance at Taxpayer Expense

According to the indictment filed on August 15, Cantrell and Vappie became romantically involved in late 2021. Over the next year, the pair embarked on 14 trips, many billed as city business. Destinations included the United Arab Emirates, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and a California vineyard, where they were photographed together.

A trip to Scotland was “where it all started,” Vappie wrote in one of 15,000 WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two, according to prosecutors.

“Public corruption has crippled us for years and years,” Michael Simpson, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, said at a news conference. “This is extremely significant.”

Charges Against Cantrell and Vappie

The charges against Mayor Cantrell include conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Vappie, who first joined the police force in 1997, was indicted earlier in July 2024 on wire fraud charges tied to billing false hours—including those spent at Cantrell’s French Quarter apartment. He has pleaded not guilty.

Cantrell’s office has declined to comment, directing inquiries to email. Vappie’s attorney also declined to speak on the indictment.

Expenses tied to the trips were substantial. On one 2022 visit to Washington, D.C., the pair incurred $3,000 in charges for a single-hour meeting, while Vappie collected $1,120 in overtime pay. At a Los Angeles hotel, prosecutors allege Vappie billed four Old Fashioned cocktails and two Stella beers to the mayor’s room.

Cover-Up Allegations

Prosecutors allege Cantrell and Vappie attempted to conceal their relationship and fraud scheme by deleting messages, intimidating staff, and even filing a police report against a citizen who photographed them in public. Despite public denials of a romantic relationship, court filings show a colleague warned Cantrell via text: “It is A FELONY to have your lover be paid to work and have his travel paid for by the city.”

Echoes of Nashville Scandal

The scandal has drawn comparisons to former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in 2018 following revelations of an affair with her police bodyguard that cost taxpayers thousands. Barry pleaded guilty to felony theft, reimbursed the city, and left office.