New Orleans mayor to appear in court on corruption charges tied to alleged affair

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday for the first time since the Democrat was indicted on corruption charges stemming from an alleged romantic relationship with her bodyguard.

She is expected to enter a plea in response to conspiracy, fraud and obstruction charges in what prosecutors described as a yearslong scheme to conceal an affair with her bodyguard as the two traveled, wined and dined together on taxpayers’ dime.

Cantrell’s bodyguard, Jeffrey 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.

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 in a state with a reputation for public corruption.

She has only four months before she leaves office