JUST IN: Blue City Mayor Indicted By Grand Jury

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell just made history, becoming the first sitting mayor of the Big Easy to be indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday.

As of now, the details surrounding the exact charges have not been released following Magistrate Judge Eva Dossier handing down the indictment to the grand jury foreman.

A federal investigation into Cantrell’s activities while serving as mayor has been going on since 2022. In February 2024, a grand jury began hearing evidence from federal prosecutors, which led to an indictment last September against building inspector Randy Farrell, according to a report from 4WWL.

Farrell was charged with conspiring to bring Cantrell a total of $9,000 in gifts back in 2019. These gifts included NFC Championship Game tickets, lunch at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and a cell phone. In exchange for the gifts, Cantrell fired a city official looking into Farrell for alleged fraud.

The New Orleans mayor was also implicated in a 2024 indictment concerning her former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vapple. Cantrell was allegedly in a romantic relationship with Vapple, who is being charged with using that relationship to defraud the New Orleans Police Department.

It seems the Big Easy has a history of problematic mayors. Former Mayor Ray Nagin was once under federal investigation while serving the New Orleans public between the years 2002 and 2010. However, he wasn’t indicted on any charges until 2013, after he was out of office.

In 2014, he was convicted and handed a 10-year prison sentence for his crimes.

“Given the nature and extent of former Mayor Nagin’s criminal conduct and betrayal of public trust over the course of several years, hopefully this result will bring at least some level of resolution to the City and its residents,” Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said about Nagin and his conviction.

“In February, a jury of New Orleans citizens sent Mr. Nagin the message, loud and clear, that public officials will be held accountable for public corruption and criminal activity. Today’s sentence confirms that message – public servants are elected to serve the public, not benefit from the position,” Richard Weber, Chief IRS Criminal Investigation, went on to say about Nagin’s case. “No one is above the law and IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to investigate all financial crimes which undermine the public’s confidence in its elected officials.”

United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. spoke about Nagin’s case and conviction, saying that elected officials are trusted to take the interests of the public and place them above their own. When that trust is violated and the law is broken, it’s the job of the U.S. Attorney’s office to bring them to justice.