New Orleans Mayor Indicted Over Allegations She Hid Relationship With Bodyguard

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday for allegedly conspiring to hide a romantic relationship with a police officer assigned to protect her.

PREMIUM Mayor LaToya Cantrell speaks at the police headquarters in New Orleans, Feb. 2, 2022. (AP FILE)

Cantrell, the city’s first female mayor, faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The police officer, 52-year-old Jeffrey Vappie, was paid even while spending time alone with Cantrell in a government apartment or tasting wines with her during a trip to a California winery, according to the indictment.

In total, prosecutors said, New Orleans paid over $70,000 for Vappie’s travel costs and salary.

Representatives for Cantrell, 53, didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday. Vappie was indicted last year and pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements. His trial is scheduled for January.

Michael M. Simpson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, called the alleged scheme an “incredible breach of the public trust” and a betrayal of people’s confidence in the government.

“Public officials should be in their jobs to serve the public and not themselves,” Simpson said at a news conference Friday.

According to the indictment, a “personal and intimate relationship” between Vappie and Cantrell started around October 2021.

In February 2022, they started using WhatsApp to message each other, sending more than 15,000 messages in about nine months, prosecutors said. In one message, Vappie told Cantrell that “he loved her and their physical relationship,” according to the indictment.

Cantrell approved pay invoices for Vappie, including for time when the two were alone or on trips together, according to the indictment. To hide their romance, the two deleted WhatsApp messages and punished subordinates who questioned their relationship, prosecutors said. At one point, Cantrell filed a restraining order against a New Orleans resident who took a photo of the pair together, the indictment said.

Cantrell was re-elected as mayor in 2021. Her second term ends in January. Vappie retired from the police department in June 2024.

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com

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