New Orleans mayor pleads not guilty to corruption charges

New Orleans mayor indicted on corruption charges

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted on Friday for charges related to covering up a romantic relationship with a New Orleans police officer assigned to her security detail. Cantrell and her former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, were charged with a combined 18 felony counts, including making false statements, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and conspiracy. The pair allegedly had a years-long relationship, with Vappie being accused of getting paid for being on duty while spending time with Cantrell in a personal manner.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal corruption charges tied to a reported romantic affair with her bodyguard. 

Cantrell, a Democrat and the city’s first female mayor, is facing conspiracy, fraud and obstruction charges for what prosecutors describe as a yearsong scheme to conceal an affair between Cantrell and her bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, as the two traveled, wined and dined together using public funds. 

LaToya Cantrell pleads not guilty

Cantrell appeared in court Wednesday to enter her plea. It’s the first time she’s appeared in court since she was indicted on 18 charges last month, but she has appeared at public events, including the recent commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. 

FILE - LaToya Cantrell speaks onstage during the 2025 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture presented by Coca-Cola - Day 3 at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

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Cantrell remained silent as she walked into the courthouse, ignoring a mob of reporters pressing her with questions. After the arraignment, her attorney, Eddie Castaing, declined to comment on the case but said it would not affect the mayor’s ability to govern the city.

What they're saying:

"She can continue to work with city employees, she just couldn’t talk about the case so that’s not going to impede any of the city operations, so it’s business as usual," Castaing said.

What's next:

The judge in the case ordered the mayor to surrender her passport and restricted her travel, instructing her to seek approval from probation officers to leave southeast Louisiana. Roby also told Cantrell she was not allowed to be in contact with Vappie.

Vappie has already pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements after he was indicted in July 2024. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday for the additional charges.

What is LaToya Cantrell accused of? 

Dig deeper:

Cantrell and Vappie used WhatsApp for more than 15,000 messages, where they professed their love and plotted to harass a citizen who helped expose their relationship, delete evidence, make false statements to FBI agents "and ultimately to commit perjury before a federal grand jury," acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson said. Vappie’s 14 trips with Cantrell cost taxpayers $70,000, not including Cantrell’s own travel costs, according to the indictment.

In a WhatsApp exchange, the indictment says, Vappie recalled accompanying Cantrell to Scotland in October 2021 on a dreamy trip "where it all started."

Cantrell, whose husband died in 2023, has denied having anything more than a professional relationship with Vappie. She lashed out at associates who raised questions about the amount of time she spent with her bodyguard, including on wine-tasting trips and in a city-owned apartment, court records show.

First mayor charged while in office

The backstory:

Cantrell, the first female mayor in New Orleans’ 300-year history, was elected twice but now becomes the city’s first mayor to be charged while in office.

Cantrell was already receding into the background of city affairs over the past year and offered no apparent resistance to President Donald Trump’s suggestion earlier this month to send the National Guard and federal agents to New Orleans even as other Democrats bristled.

RELATED: Trump considers sending federal troops to New Orleans before Chicago

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced on Sept. 3 that Cantrell was suspended from involvement in federal transactions with HUD. The City Council issued a statement last week saying it had reassured the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the Office of Community Development that other city officials could sign federal contracts instead.

The other side:

Cantrell and her allies have previously said the blowback she is experiencing is tinged by double standards she faces as a Black woman. Before the indictment, Cantrell said she has faced "very disrespectful, insulting, in some cases kind of unimaginable" treatment.