XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.liberalism, sac.politics   
   XPost: neworleans.general   
   From: democrat.negroes@do.it   
      
   As a years-long probe into Mayor LaToya Cantrell nears a conclusion,   
   prosecutors are homing in on whether she received gifts or gratuities in   
   exchange for firing a high-ranking city official, sources with knowledge of   
   the case say.   
      
   The allegations — part of a complex saga involving self-dealing by private   
   inspectors, secret recordings and a city agency beset by scandal — shed new   
   light on the scope of the federal investigation into Cantrell, now at least   
   two years old.   
      
   The resignation several weeks ago of NOPD officer Jeffrey Vappie, a longtime   
   member of Cantrell’s security detail and alleged romantic partner, has   
   further stoked theories that federal prosecutors are closing in on the mayor   
   and her allies. Sources with knowledge of the investigation have said they   
   expect Vappie to face charges soon, possibly for getting paid for hours that   
   records show he was not working.   
      
   Some observers believe the mayor could also face charges related to Vappie,   
   although it’s unclear what those charges might be. Meanwhile, it’s clear   
   prosecutors are also looking into other allegations against Cantrell that   
   have nothing to do with Vappie or their relationship.   
      
   Cantrell and Vappie both deny having had a romantic relationship. Neither   
   has been charged in the case. The mayor’s attorney, Eddie Castaing, declined   
   to comment, as did Vappie’s lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg.   
      
   Cantrell has previously denied any wrongdoing.   
      
   Fueled by news reports and political insiders’ private discussions,   
   speculation reached a fever pitch last week. Last Thursday and Friday, the   
   days when grand juries generally convene, reporters flocked to the Hale   
   Boggs federal building on Poydras Street, awaiting news of an indictment   
   that never materialized.   
      
   The courtroom was quiet Friday morning, with a magistrate judge moving   
   swiftly through arraignments and other routine business in low-profile   
   cases.   
      
   Sources with knowledge of the case say that, among other areas of inquiry,   
   federal prosecutors are examining gifts the mayor allegedly received from   
   Randy Farrell, whose firm IECI performed private building and electrical   
   inspections for the city. Farrell apparently gave Cantrell tickets to a   
   number of New Orleans Saints games, and possibly other items — gifts that   
   prosecutors believe were given in exchange for the mayor’s August 2019   
   firing of Jennifer Cecil, deputy director of the Safety and Permits   
   Department, multiple sources say. The value of the tickets, and precisely   
   when they were given, is unclear.   
      
   Some of those interactions became public in March when WWL-TV published an   
   investigation detailing how Farrell and a city employee who was close to him   
   complained to the mayor about Cecil. They allegedly did so after Cecil   
   became suspicious that the contractors were approving work performed by   
   their own firms. Cantrell fired Cecil soon after receiving the complaints.   
      
   Next month will mark five years since Cecil’s firing. Many federal crimes   
   have a five-year statute of limitations, so prosecutors may be racing that   
   clock.   
      
   Allegations that Cantrell might have received something in return for firing   
   Cecil have not previously been made public. Federal corruption   
   investigations often focus on proving so-called quid-pro-quo arrangements, a   
   cornerstone of “honest services fraud” prosecutions.   
      
   Contractor controversy   
   Emails detailed in WWL-TV’s report showed Cecil was scrutinizing Farrell and   
   other IECI inspectors in the summer of 2019 when Cantrell requested a lunch   
   meeting with the entire Safety and Permits staff. Larry Chan, the chief   
   building official and one of Cecil’s targets inside City Hall, immediately   
   forwarded the staff-only invitation to Farrell, the TV station reported.   
      
   In a recording that WWL obtained of a meeting held Aug. 19, 2019, Chan   
   complained to Cantrell that Cecil was “charging me with things” and   
   creating   
   a “hostile work environment.” Cantrell responded by praising Chan and   
   asking, “Do you believe that we have what we need internally to fill   
   leadership gaps should they become open? So, like running OneStop, that sort   
   of thing?”   
      
      
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