New Orleans Mayor Indicted Over Scheme to Conceal Romantic Relationship With Bodyguard

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has been indicted for allegedly orchestrating a yearslong scheme to conceal a romantic relationship with her state-employed bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie. The 18-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury, accuses Cantrell of conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction, adding her to a case that already included Vappie, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements [1].

The indictment paints a detailed account of Cantrell and Vappie's activities, which allegedly involved spending time together in private while Vappie was being paid as if he was carrying out official duties. Prosecutors say the pair traveled to vineyards and spent time in apartments, with the city paying over $70,000 for Vappie’s travel. They communicated through thousands of encrypted WhatsApp messages, some of which were deleted to avoid detection. The indictment describes the relationship as “personal and intimate,” contrasting with their public claims of a strictly professional bond [1].

The affair appears to have started in October 2021, when Vappie joined Cantrell in Scotland, according to a WhatsApp message cited in the indictment. In the following year, the two met on Martha’s Vineyard instead of Cantrell attending a conference in Miami. Vappie’s travel to the island was covered by the city to attend a separate conference. Cantrell’s own justification for travel accommodations was framed as a matter of safety due to the pandemic, but the indictment suggests those justifications were misleading [1].

The scandal emerges amid a turbulent second term for Cantrell, a Democrat who won a historic election in 2017 by positioning herself as an outsider to New Orleans’ political class. While her early tenure was marked by significant infrastructure investment and decisive pandemic response, the city faced mounting criticism for delays in trash collection after Hurricane Ida in 2021 and for a surge in crime. Cantrell also faced backlash for taking first-class international trips on city funds, violating a policy requiring city employees to use cheaper fares. She agreed to repay the difference, but the controversy contributed to a recall campaign in 2022 by disgruntled Black Democrats and funded by wealthy white Republicans [1].

New Orleans has a long history of public corruption cases. Former Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2014 for bribery and money laundering charges related to his tenure from 2002 to 2010. In 2022, former Louisiana sheriff Rodney J. “Jack” Strain was sentenced to 10 years for federal bribery convictions and had previously received four life sentences for earlier convictions involving child sexual abuse. The latest case has drawn comparisons to these historical scandals, with Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson calling it “extremely significant” in the context of New Orleans’ ongoing challenges with public corruption [1].

Cantrell has not commented publicly since July 15, when she announced historic declines in crime. Her legal team has not issued a statement on the indictment, and the mayor has not posted to her official social media accounts since before the charges were announced. Cantrell and her allies have argued she has been unfairly targeted as a Black woman and held to a different standard than male officials. The City of New Orleans has confirmed awareness of the indictment and stated that the mayor’s attorney is reviewing the charges [1].

Source: [1] New Orleans mayor indicted for alleged yearslong scheme to hide her affair with her state-employed bodyguard (https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/new-orleans-mayor-indicted-latoya-cantrell-indicted-bodyguard-romantic/)