Feds accuse New Orleans mayor of fraud, obstruction

(CN) — Prosecutors hit New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and a high-ranking police officer with a sweeping federal indictment Friday, accusing them of conspiring to defraud taxpayers by disguising a personal relationship as official security detail work — then obstructing justice to cover it up.

In the 45-page indictment filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, prosecutors charge Cantrell and NOPD Sergeant Jeffrey Vappie with 18 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Prosecutors say the pair exploited Vappie’s role on Cantrell’s Executive Protection Unit to bill the city for more than $70,000 in overtime, travel and perks while spending time together on trips to Scotland, California and Martha’s Vineyard.

According to prosecutors, Cantrell and Vappie began an intimate relationship in October 2021 — just months after Vappie’s assignment to her security detail — and quickly turned it into a scheme to enrich themselves at public expense.

“In or around October 2021, Cantrell and Vappie developed a personal and intimate relationship,” prosecutors claim. “To hide their relationship 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.”

Prosecutors say Vappie falsely claimed overtime pay for hours he spent with Cantrell at her city-owned French Quarter apartment, which they treated as a “personal shared residence.” In the indictment, prosecutors cite 14 trips between 2021 and 2024 where Vappie accompanied Cantrell under the pretense of official security work.

Among those were a 2022 trip to San Francisco for an environmental conference, where the city paid $9,000, including $1,639 in overtime for Vappie, despite records showing they extended the trip for personal wine-tasting. Another was a 2022 visit to Martha’s Vineyard, where Cantrell canceled an official mayoral event in Miami to join Vappie at a housing conference he attended as a city-appointed board member. There were also multiple instances where Vappie billed 15-hour shifts while spending hours inside Cantrell’s apartment or dining with her at restaurants.

Prosecutors further claim Cantrell personally upgraded Vappie’s flights to first class and approved his expense reports despite knowing they were fraudulent.

In July 2024, prosecutors separately indicted Vappie with fraud and lying to investigators. Prosecutors thinly veiled Cantrell’s identity in Vappie’s earlier indictment as “Public Official 1,” who “was elected to serve a four-year term as mayor of the city of New Orleans.” Voters initially elected Cantrell, a former City Council member, as mayor in 2017 and reelected her in 2021. She is term-limited to two terms. Prosecutors filed Cantrell’s superseding indictment in Vappie’s case late Friday.

As scrutiny grew, prosecutors say Cantrell and Vappie took aggressive steps to hide their conduct, including deleting more than 15,000 WhatsApp messages between them, some of which discussed their relationship and travel plans. They also conspired to file a false police report and restraining order against a New Orleans resident who photographed them together in public while Vappie was supposedly on duty.

Further, prosecutors claim the pair pressured NOPD officials to reassign Vappie back to her security detail after an internal investigation found misconduct. Prosecutors accuse both defendants of lying to investigators, with Vappie telling FBI agents in July 2023 that he “did not have, and never had, a physical relationship or a romantic relationship” with Cantrell — claims prosecutors say were contradicted by recovered messages.

Prosecutors say the pair’s intimate relationship began during an October 2021 trip to Scotland, which Vappie later called “where it all started” in a message to Cantrell. During a 2022 trip to Washington, D.C., Vappie messaged Cantrell: “[A]nother great trip, and also another leg on our journey,” adding that he loved her and their physical relationship.

Prosecutors say Vappie frequently spent time inside Cantrell’s city-owned French Quarter apartment during shifts he claimed to be on duty, with Cantrell referring to it as “our apartment” in messages.

Cantrell is charged with perjury for falsely testifying to a grand jury in June 2024 that she had turned over all requested documents, when prosecutors say she withheld evidence, including photos and messages. If convicted, Cantrell and Vappie face up to 20 years in prison on the most serious fraud charges, plus additional penalties for obstruction and false statements. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any ill-gotten gains.

Neither Cantrell nor Vappie has publicly commented on the charges. A federal arraignment could take place in the coming weeks.

Eileen Carter, a community activist who organized the failed recall campaign against Cantrell, replied with “pray for New Orleans” when asked about the indictment via email Friday.

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