Federal grand jury indicts New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell after yearslong investigation [View all]

Source: The Times-Picayune

A federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment Friday against New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, accusing the mayor of pursuing an illicit affair with her police bodyguard on taxpayers’ dime, then lying to federal officials and deleting evidence to hide the relationship.

The indictment returned at New Orleans’ federal courthouse accuses Cantrell of 11 counts including wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to a federal grand jury — all part of the alleged yearslong scheme to hide her relationship with Jeffrey Vappie, the former New Orleans Police officer assigned to protect her. The two face 18 counts total.

Prosecutors secured the charges against Cantrell through a superseding indictment in their ongoing prosecution of Vappie, who was initially charged last summer with wire fraud and false statement counts in the same alleged scheme. Vappie faces additional charges under the new indictment.

Prosecutors in the new 44-page indictment describe Vappie and Cantrell deleting WhatsApp messages, lying to FBI agents and “intimidating” subordinates as they tried to erase signs of their amorous relationship — including trips to a Napa Valley, California, winery and Martha’s Vineyard — during periods when both claimed to be on official duty.

Read more: https://www.nola.com/news/politics/new-orleans-mayor-latoya-cantrell-indicted/article_ea724515-b9de-4624-94d2-cb71684a6931.html