New Orleans – Mayor of New Orleans Latoya Cantrell Wednesday pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, fraud and blockage charges, caused by a romantic relationship with the bodyguard.
Democrats appear in federal court for the first time since the jury returned last month against 18 indictments Cantrell Her bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, outlines what prosecutors say is a multi-year plan to cover up an affair, while the two travel, win and eat in a taxpayer’s dime.
U.S. District Judge Karen Wells Roby ordered the mayor to surrender her passport and restrict travel, directing her to seek approval from probation officials to leave southeast Louisiana. Robbie told Cantrell Contact with Vappie is not allowed.
Vappie has pleaded not guilty to the wire fraud charges and made false statements after being prosecuted in July 2024. He was scheduled to file for additional charges in court on Friday.
Cantrellthe first female mayor in New Orleans’ 300-year history, was elected twice, but is now the city’s first mayor to be prosecuted when he became the city’s first state known for public corruption. She only needs four months to leave the office under term limit.
The mayor, once known for his outspoken role, has remained silent on the allegations since the indictment of her 18 indictments and announced Vappie in mid-August. She did not admit that the indictment during her public appearance was to mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina last month.
Photo: The mayor of New Orleans pleas not to plead guilty to the alleged romance
When entering the court building, Cantrell Stay silent as the journalist mob asks questions to the Democrats. Her attorney, Eddie Castaing, declined to comment.
Cantrell The background of city affairs has been withdrawn from the past year, and there is no obvious resistance to Donald Trump’s proposal in the proposal earlier this month, even other Democrats are packed with National Guard and federal agents sending it to New Orleans.
She was also a pariah by Scott Turner, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who announced on September 3 Cantrell Suspensioned in federal transactions with HUD. The city council issued a statement last week saying it assured New Orleans’ Housing Authority and the Office of Community Development that other city officials could sign federal contracts.
Sometimes, she and her allies say the counterattack she is experiencing is bound by the double standards she faces as a black woman. Cantrell Before the indictment, she said she faced “very disrespectful, insulting, and in some cases unimaginable” treatment.
Cantrell Vappie used WhatsApp to conduct more than 15,000 messages, saying they loved and planned harassment to help expose their relationship, deleted evidence, and made false statements to FBI agents “ultimately committed perjury before a federal grand jury,” said acted US attorney Michael Simpson. The indictment states that Vappie’s 14 trips with Cantrell cost taxpayers $70,000, excluding Cantrell’s own travel expenses.
In the WhatsApp exchange, Vappie recalls the accompanying Cantrell In October 2021, a fantastic trip “everything begins”.
CantrellThe husband died in 2023 and he denied having a professional relationship with Vappie. Court records show she lashed out at colleagues, who raised about the time spent with bodyguards, including time spent in wine travel and city-owned apartments.
Cantrell Rafael Goyeneche, chairman of the Watchdog Group Metropolitan Crime Commission, said more than 100 people have filed corruption charges in Louisiana over the past two decades.
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Brook is a member of the Associated Press/Reports Corps of the State University News Initiative. The U.S. Report is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report secret issues.
