Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday became the latest in a long line of New Orleans-area politicians to face federal criminal charges, a list that spans nearly every elected office: mayors, parish presidents, council and school board members, state lawmakers, judges, district attorneys, sheriffs, a coroner and a U.S. representative.

She is the second New Orleans mayor to face charges in the last 15 years, and is at least the 27th elected official from southeast Louisiana to be indicted this century.

Several of the cases were of national significance, including that of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson , who was convicted of bribery in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years after FBI agents seized $90,000 in cash from his freezer. Also making national headlines was the indictment of f ormer New

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