New Orleans Mayor indicted on 18 counts

By 
 August 18, 2025

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell made headlines by being the first mayor in the city’s history to be indicted by a federal grand jury.

Cantrell, who was also the city’s first woman mayor, was charged on counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false declaration, along with her bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, as The Daily Caller reported.

The indictments were handed down after a federal probe into the mayor that began in 2022, after suspicion about some of her activities drew the attention of law enforcement.

Less than 24 hours after the indictment was handed down, Cantrell was a no-show at an Amtrak passenger train unveiling at Union Passenger Terminal, where she was slated to appear.

The case for Cantrell

The New Orleans mayor became the subject of a grand jury in February of last year, leading up to the charges from this year, around 18 months later.

The same investigation found enough evidence to indict city building inspector Randy Farrell, who stands accused of conspiring to bribe the mayor with around $9,000 in gifts.

The gifts in question included NFC Championship tickets, a meal at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and a cell phone. This investigation was closely tied to Cantrell’s.

The personal side

The superseding indictment also alleges that Cantrell and her bodyguard began a personal relationship late in 2021, and went to extreme lengths to conceal it.

As part of the alleged wrongdoing, the indictment asserts that the mayor defrauded the city of New Orleans by taking part in a romantic affair while Vappie was on duty and being paid to protect the mayor

From residents

In interviews with individuals from the city of New Orleans, the city seems to have a mix of reactions to the mayor who made history.

Kevin Green, who lives near the Pontchartrain shoreline and is a retired police officer, told reporters that Cantrell once seemed like a breath of fresh air for New Orleans.

To Green’s mind, she was a person who would “speak her mind” and address problems head-on, whether it was what people wanted to hear or not.

“I thought she was a really good person at first,” said Green, “But with decisions you make, consequences come behind them.”

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson