Mayor Latoya Cantrell speaking at press conference on Jan. 1, 2025.

The mayor of New Orleans has been indicted on charges stemming from an alleged scheme to use over $70,000 of city funds to keep up a clandestine relationship with a bodyguard, new court filings show.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell, first elected in 2017, used her office to "maximize" time with Jeffrey Paul Vappie II, a bodyguard the two-term mayor became romantically involved with in October 2021, according to an indictment filed on Friday, Aug. 15. Cantrell spent tens of thousands of dollars on trips with Vappie under the guise of official business, the indictment says.

The two went on 14 trips together that were considered New Orleans business, the indictment says. Destinations included the United Arab Emirates, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Among photos in court filings is one of them at a California vineyard. A trip to Scotland was "where it all started," Vappie wrote in one of 15,000 WhatsApp messages they exchanged between February and October 2022, according to court filings.

“Public corruption has crippled us for years and years,” Michael Simpson, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, said at a news conference in reference to the state's history with corrupt leaders. “This is extremely significant.”

Simpson brushed off allegations by Cantrell's supporters that her gender placed an unfair target on her back.

"It’s irrelevant that it’s romance or that it’s female," he told reporters. "What is relevant is that it is an incredible breach of the public trust. It's an incredible betrayal of people's confidence in their own government, and it's a violation of innumerable federal criminal laws."

What are the charges against LaToya Cantrell and her bodyguard?

The federal charges against Cantrell include conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements and obstruction of justice, court filings show.

A Cantrell office representative directed USA TODAY to send requests for comment via email. Her office did not reply.

Harry Rosenberg, an attorney for Vappie, told USA TODAY that his client could not comment on the indictment that involves the former bodyguard.

Vappie was indicted first in July 2024 on wire fraud charges related to billing false hours, including those he spent inside Cantrell’s French Quarter apartment. He has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.

Cantrell's is the Big Easy's first female mayor in the city's 300-year history.

She and Vappie face potentially decades in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.

Where did the money go?

Vappie, who first joined the city police force in 1997, was assigned to Cantrell’s detail from May 2021 to November 2022 and from June 2023 to April 2024, months before being indicted on July 19 of that year, court filings say. Vappie’s lawyer said his client chose to retire.

Cantrell and Vappie incurred significant expenses over the course of the trips and Vappie earned overtime hours. During an Aug. 21, 2022, trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with an official for one hour, they incurred $3,000 in expenses and Vappie made an additional $1,120 in overtime, the indictment says.

Expenses included upgrading Vappie's seat to first class on a trip to California. At a Los Angeles hotel, Vappie charged four Old Fashioned cocktails and two Stella beers to Cantrell’s room.

Prosecutors say the $70,000 refers to the amount the city spent on Vappie during his trips with Cantrell. The indictment doesn’t cover how much the city spent on Cantrell.

'Many steps … to hide their scheme,' acting US attorney says

Cantrell and Vappie took "many steps," Simpson said, "to hide their scheme and to perpetuate their continued fraud."

Among measures, they intimidated and punished subordinates, lied, and deleted digital evidence, court filings say.

They also harassed a member of the public who photographed them together in public, court records say. Cantrell filed a police report against the person and filed for a protection order, claiming they threatened her safety, according to the indictment.

When New Orleans media outlets published photos of the mayor and the bodyguard together in November 2022, Cantrell made public statements denying they had a physical or romantic relationship.

A colleague confronted Cantrell, texting her, "It is A FELONY to have your lover be paid to work and have his travel paid for by the city," court filings say. The mayor denied the relationship.

Alleged scheme extended to New Orleans

The pair kept up their alleged fraud scheme in New Orleans, namely at Cantrell’s French Quarter apartment in the Pontalba building, according to prosecutors.

"While in New Orleans, Cantrell and Vappie treated a city-owned apartment in the Pentaba building as their own personal shared residence and coordinated to spend time together there engaging in personal activities," Simpson said at the news conference.

Vappie charged the city for hours he spent there with Cantrell or alone, the indictment says.

It’s considered unusual, according to New Orleans policing standards, for members of Vappie’s unit to provide personal protection at the mayor’s residence, court filings show. Cantrell’s absence at points made the arrangement even more unusual, prosecutors say.

'Don’t let this be your path,' colleague warns mayor

The colleague who confronted Cantrell over the relationship warned that she could wind up like former Nashville, Tennessee Mayor Megan Barry, whose career imploded over a relationship with her bodyguard.

Barry, elected in 2015, began an extramarital affair with her police bodyguard, racking up thousands of dollars in overtime on the taxpayer dime before ultimately facing felony charges, according to reporting by The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"She is done!" the colleague texted Cantrell. "Please don't let this be your path, LaToya!!!"

Barry pleaded guilty to felony theft of property over $10,000 related to her affair with former police Sgt. Rob Forrest. As part of her plea agreement, she resigned as mayor and reimbursed the city $11,000 in restitution connected with her travel expenses with Forrest.

Forrest, who racked up nearly $200,000 in overtime, also pleaded guilty to felony theft over $10,000 and was sentenced to probation.

Contributing by Kelly Puente of The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Orleans mayor indicted over alleged romantic relationship, trips with bodyguard

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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