NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and ex-police officer Jeffrey Paul Vappie II were charged Thursday in a superseding federal indictment accusing them of a scheme to defraud the city and obstruct justice, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release .

Cantrell, 53, and Vappie, a 52-year-old who previously served on the mayor’s executive protection team, allegedly exploited their positions by having the city cover Vappie’s salary and expenses for personal activities while presenting them as official duties, the release stated.

Federal prosecutors say Cantrell and Vappie maintained an intimate relationship as early as October 2021 and accuse them of making efforts to hide their activities, including deleting thousands of messages, misleading colleagues, intimidatin

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