Mayor of New Orleans and her bodyguard face accusations of fraud, corruption and romance
Democrat LaToya Cantrell allegedly used public money to pay for romance trips with her bodyguard
LaToya Cantrell, the mayor of New Orleans, and her bodyguard are facing accusations of fraud and corruption because they are accused of having spent public funds to enjoy the alleged romance they have been having for some time. years.
In May 2018, the 53-year-old Democrat was elected as the first female mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the city's 300-year history.
However, her administration has been controversial, as she is accused of excessive spending on luxury trips, which also included Jeffrey Vappie, the former head of the police detachment in charge of ensuring security and with whom she is romantically linked.
Surprisingly, after a long and thorough investigation, a group of New Orleans prosecutors accused the California native of corruption before a grand jury.
Since 2021, Cantrell has allegedly secretly maintained a “personal and intimate relationship” with her bodyguard.
The controversial thing about the matter is that, using public funds, they made 14 national and international trips.
Prosecutors point out that both characters used to travel on separate flights, but later coincided at the same destinations and in order not to be discovered, they communicated using the secure messaging platform WhatsApp and its automatic deletion function.
When they were in New Orleans, during their work hours, they met in an apartment in the Upper Pontalba building, located in the French Quarter, which is owned by the city.
The alleged lover of the mayor has served as a detective for the New Orleans city police since 1997 and in 2020 he carried out a Master's Degree in Government Administration.
As part of the investigation, there are photographs where the African-American mayor can be seen dining with Vappie while she argued that they were both on duty.
Both characters are also accused of intimidating subordinates and lying to FBI agents.
If found guilty of any of the charges against them, in addition to being subject to fines of up to $250,000, they could be sentenced to several years in prison.
This is the first time in the city's history that a sitting mayor faces criminal proceedings.