MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL ARRESTED
ANOTHER DEI HIRE BITES THE DUST. KNOCKING A FEW BOOTS WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR LATOYA CANTRELL, SHE HAD TO HAVE A FULL BLOWN OUT LOVE AFFAIR.
BY SNN.BZ STAFF
The Big Easy just got a whole lot hotter! Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the city’s first female mayor and another so-called “DEI hire” according to her critics, has been caught red-handed in a steamy, scandalous love affair with her hunky bodyguard, Jeffrey Paul Vappie!
Cantrell was warned by a colleague that taking her lover along on city business was illegal and she challenged the person to “PROVE IT.” She faces up to a 50 year sentence.
This isn’t just a juicy gossip bomb—it’s a full-on federal indictment that’s left the city sweating and taxpayers fuming after shelling out over $70,000 for their sultry escapades. Grab a fan and a cold drink, because this exposé is about to set pulses racing! Tiffany Henyard had been doing exactly the same thing (using taxpayer funds to pay her lover to travel with her). Henyard has not yet been arrested.
The 44-page superseding indictment, unsealed on August 15, 2025, by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, lays bare a torrid tale of passion, power, and perjury that began in October 2021. Cantrell, 53, and Vappie, 52, allegedly turned their “professional” relationship into a sizzling romance, exploiting their public roles to indulge in private pleasures.
Sources say it all kicked off with a seductive trip to Scotland, where Vappie whispered, “This is where it all started,” in a steamy WhatsApp message that’s now Exhibit A in this lust-fueled legal drama.
These lovebirds didn’t hold back, exchanging over 15,000 encrypted messages—complete with flirty photos, audio clips, and enough heat to melt the French Quarter! The indictment reveals Cantrell, still married to attorney Jason Cantrell (who tragically passed in August 2023), sent Vappie a provocative snap of her hand, teasing, “Hey, did you tell [redacted] you put a ring on it?”—a clear hint at their illicit bond. Vappie, meanwhile, played the devoted lover, billing the city for 15-hour shifts while sneaking off to Napa Valley wineries with Cantrell, sipping wine and locking lips during an extra day tacked onto a “working trip” in April 2022.
The duo’s rendezvous didn’t stop there. They turned a city-owned Pontalba Apartment in the historic French Quarter into their love nest, meeting in secret while Vappie claimed to be on duty. Taxpayers footed the bill for 14 domestic and international romps, including a saucy detour to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022, where Cantrell skipped a Miami conference to rendezvous with her man.
“The times when we are truly alone is what spoils me the most,” she purred in a text, igniting imaginations citywide. From Los Angeles to the United Arab Emirates, their passion burned bright, costing New Orleans a cool $70,000 in travel expenses—airfare, meals, and all the trimmings of their lustful jaunts.
But the heat turned up when they tried to cover their tracks! The indictment alleges they used WhatsApp’s disappearing message feature (activated by Cantrell in December 2022, despite lying about it starting in 2021) to erase evidence of their affair. They even harassed a citizen who snapped photos of them dining intimately at Tableau, with Cantrell filing a police report and seeking a restraining order to silence the scandal.
Vappie allegedly pressured interim Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork to “make it right,” while Cantrell flexed her mayoral muscle to ensure his protection—until he retired in June 2024, leaving their love story exposed.
The 18-count indictment slaps Cantrell with charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, false statements, and perjury, while Vappie faces 15 counts, including wire fraud and lying to the FBI. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years each behind bars—though their legal teams are already crying foul, with Cantrell’s allies claiming she’s a victim of racial and gender bias. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson dismissed that, calling it “an incredible betrayal” of public trust.
Cantrell’s reign, marked by her 2018 election as the city’s first Black female mayor, has been a rollercoaster of first-class travel scandals and a failed 2022 recall effort. Now, with her term ending in January 2026, this bombshell could end her career in handcuffs instead of a hero’s farewell. Vappie’s wife Danielle filed for divorce in 2023, citing the affair, adding fuel to the fire of this tabloid dream.
So, dear readers, as the legal eagles circle and the city sweats, one thing’s clear: LaToya Cantrell and Jeffrey Vappie turned New Orleans into their personal playground of passion. Need a cold shower yet? Stay tuned—this scandal’s just heating up!
Latoya Cantrell has now wound up being identified as the women with whom her husband, Jeffrey Vappie was having an affair. That information is contained in divorce documents filed by Mrs. Danielle Vappie’s lawyers.
