New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday for the first time since she was indicted on 18 counts including conspiracy, fraud and obstruction related to an alleged romantic relationship with her longtime city bodyguard.
Prosecutors say the charges stem from a yearslong scheme to conceal the relationship and to use municipal resources for travel and other expenses, then to mislead investigators. Cantrell is expected to enter a plea in response to the indictment announced in mid-August.
Jeffrey Vappie, the mayor’s former bodyguard, had earlier pleaded not guilty in July to charges of wire fraud and making false statements and has been indicted along with Cantrell on the broader 18-count case. Vappie is expected to appear in federal court Friday on the additional charges tied to the same alleged scheme.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson said prosecutors recovered more than 15,000 WhatsApp messages between Cantrell and Vappie during which the two professed their love and, prosecutors allege, plotted to harass a citizen who helped expose their relationship, delete evidence, make false statements to FBI agents “and ultimately to commit perjury before a federal grand jury.” The indictment details 14 trips Vappie took with the mayor that cost taxpayers roughly $70,000, a figure that does not include Cantrell’s own travel expenses. One exchange in the messages referenced a trip to Scotland in October 2021 described by Vappie as the place “where it all started.”
Cantrell has denied that her relationship with Vappie was anything more than professional. Court records allege she lashed out at associates who raised questions about time she spent with her bodyguard, including trips to wine tastings and time spent in a city-owned apartment. Cantrell, who was elected twice and is New Orleans’ first female mayor in the city’s roughly 300-year history, has said previously that she has faced “very disrespectful, insulting, in some cases kind of unimaginable” treatment, and at times her allies have suggested the scrutiny is affected by double standards applied to Black women.
Since the indictment, Cantrell has largely kept a low public profile. She did not acknowledge the charges during public appearances marking the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and has been less visible in city affairs over the past year. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended Cantrell from involvement in federal transactions with HUD on Sept. 3, a move announced by HUD Secretary Scott Turner. In response, the New Orleans City Council said it had reassured the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the Office of Community Development that other city officials could sign federal contracts in the mayor’s stead.
Legal experts and local watchdogs placed the case in the context of Louisiana’s long history of public corruption prosecutions. Rafael Goyeneche, former prosecutor and president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, noted Cantrell joins more than 100 people who have faced corruption charges in the state in the past two decades.
Cantrell has four months remaining in her term before term limits require her to leave office. The case is likely to continue through pretrial proceedings if she pleads not guilty, and Vappie’s separate earlier plea of not guilty to wire fraud and false statements remains part of the broader federal inquiry into the alleged conduct. Court filings and the indictment provide the primary public account of investigators’ allegations; Cantrell’s public statements since the indictment have been limited.
The proceedings mark the first time a New Orleans mayor has been charged while in office. The federal case will proceed through the U.S. District Court in New Orleans as both sides prepare for the next scheduled appearances later this week.