Police bodyguard accused of fraud and false statements about alleged affair with mayor

NEW ORLEANS — Federal prosecutors are accusing a former New Orleans police officer of hiding a romantic relationship with Mayor LaToya Cantrell and filing false payroll records claiming he was on duty as one of her bodyguards during hours they spent together on trips abroad, at restaurants and at a city-owned French Quarter apartment. At the heart of the indictment are seven wire fraud counts citing a series of payroll deposits into Vappie’s account for time Vappie claimed to be working as a member of the department’s “executive protection unit” when, prosecutors allege, he was off duty. There is also an allegation that Vappie, in May or June 2023, “attempted to influence” the New Orleans police department’s interim superintendent to exonerate him following a disciplinary hearing about his time cards. The interim superintendent at the time was New Orleans Police Department veteran Michelle Woodfork, who had been regarded as a top candidate for the permanent job to fill the vacant position.