New Orleans (AP) – New Orleans Mayor Latoia Cantrell was accused of Friday in what prosecutors called a long -standing scheme to hide a romantic relationship with their bodyguard, which was paid, as if he was working, even when they met in the apartments and traveling to the apartments for the Loose Loose Loose.
The federal jury accused Cantrell of conspiracy, fraud and an obstacle less than five months before leaving office due to the restrictions on the time limit. The first woman mayor in New Orleans’ 300-year history has already become the first mayor of the city to be accused while in service.
“Public corruption has been crippling us for years and years,” said US lawyer Michael Simpson, citing Louisiana’s famous story. “And that’s extremely important.”
Cantrell’s bodyguard, Jeffrey Wapi, was already faced with wire fraud and made false statements. He pleaded guilty. A big jury returned 18 on Friday, which added Cantrell to the case.
They are accused of exchange of encrypted messages by application to avoid detection and then delete conversations. The mayor and Vapi said their relationship was strictly professional.
In 2021, “Cantrell and Vappie developed personal and intimate relationships. To hide their relationship and to maximize their time together, Cantrell and Vappie used their public positions to develop and apply a scheme for fraud,” the indictment said.
They met in an apartment while Vapi claims to be on duty and she arranged Vappie to attend 14 trips, Simpson said. The trips, he added, were described by her as times “When they were really alone.”
Simpson said Cantrell lied in a statement that she had activated a function on her phone, which automatically deleted messages in 2021, when she did not really activate this feature by 2022, a month after the media began to speculate on the couple’s behavior.
When a private citizen takes pictures of them to have dinner together and drink wine, Cantrell filed a police protocol and sought a restrictive order, he said.
The mayor’s service did not immediately reply to a phone message or email from the Associated Press, looking for a comment on fees.
Cancer and her other allies said she was unfairly directed as a black woman and held to a different standard by male officials, demolished their executive forces.
However, Simpson shook the claims that race and gender played a role in the investigation.
“No matter that this is a romance or that she is a woman,” he told reporters, adding that the allegations were “an incredible betrayal of people’s trust in their own government.”
Cancer, Democrat, encountered members of the City Council during a tumultuous second term and experienced efforts to withdraw in 2022.
“This is a sad day for the New Orleans people,” said Monet Brynic, a spokesman for the chairman of the City Council JP Morrell. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cantrell family as they move during this difficult time.”
Cantrell has not sent a message to its official X -known issue, known as Twitter, on July 15, when she said the city has been experiencing historical crime downturns.
As she heads to her last months of service, Cantrell alienates ex -confidants and supporters and her civic profile withdrew. Her early achievements were darkened by self -inflicted wounds and bitter feuds with hostile City Council, political observers say. The mayor’s role weakened after the voter approved changes to the city charter, which aims to limit her power.
Earlier this year, Cantrell said she faced “very disrespectful, insulting, in some cases not treated.”
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Holingsworth reports from Mission, Kansas.