XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.liberalism, sac.politics   
   XPost: neworleans.general   
   From: democrat.negroes@do.it   
      
   Prosecutors claim Vappie collected paychecks for hours he claimed to be   
   protecting the mayor, but was actually engaging in a romantic relationship   
   with her.   
      
   Federal prosecutors on Friday secured an eight-count indictment against   
   Jeffrey Vappie, accusing the former New Orleans police officer on Mayor   
   LaToya Cantrell's security detail of wire fraud and making false statements.   
      
   The indictment confirms details that had been subject of months of   
   speculation by legal observers and media reports. It largely focuses on how,   
   according to prosecutors, Vappie orchestrated a scheme to collect paychecks   
   from the New Orleans Police Department for hours he claimed to be protecting   
   the mayor, but was actually engaging in a romantic relationship with her.   
      
   It further accuses Vappie of lying to federal authorities by telling agents   
   in an interview that he was not engaged in such a relationship.   
      
   Both Vappie and Cantrell — who features prominently in Vappie's indictment   
   and is referred to in the document as "Public Official 1" — have denied   
   having an affair. Their attorneys declined to comment Friday. Cantrell has   
   not been accused of any crimes in connection to Vappie.   
      
   Here's what the indictment says about their relationship.   
      
   Payroll fraud   
   Vappie reported fraudulent work hours on at least seven pay checks, the   
   indictment alleges, starting in August 2022 and ending in April 2024. He's   
   accused of pocketing up to $7,177.49 that prosecutors say the city paid him   
   for hours where he claimed to be on duty, but wasn't.   
      
   "Vappie submitted and certified timecards to NOPD for periods he falsely   
   claimed to have worked on duty... when, in fact, Vappie was engaged in   
   personal, recreational activities unrelated to his work duties, including a   
   personal and romantic relationship with Public Official 1," the document   
   reads.   
      
   At times, Vappie denied to other officers in the executive protection unit   
   that he and the mayor had a personal or romantic relationship, the   
   indictment says.   
      
   It accuses him of dining and drinking alcohol at restaurants with the mayor   
   during periods where he was meant to be protecting her.   
      
   Romantic messages   
   The indictment details how Vappie and Cantrell allegedly exchanged numerous   
   "personal and romantic messages and photographs" via text, voice message and   
   WhatsApp in ways that sought to "avoid detection and continue their   
   relationship."   
      
   Vappie continued to claim only having a professional relationship with   
   Cantrell throughout the period where they were exchanging amorous messages,   
   the indictment says.   
      
   He and Cantrell also discussed and later deleted messages they'd exchanged,   
   the document says — steps the feds say shows that Vappie was trying to   
   conceal their relationship as part of the payroll fraud scheme.   
      
   The indictment contains an image of a hand-written message Vappie allegedly   
   wrote Cantrell in June 2022 in a notebook he refers to as "our book."   
      
   "I’m in our space and I’m feeling so in love with you," he wrote in part of   
   the letter. "You got me baby and it feels so good! It’s crazy."   
      
   Web searches   
   The indictment further seeks to cement that Vappie tried to hide the   
   relationship by providing details of various incriminating web searches.   
      
   In March 2022, he's accused of conducting "multiple online searches"   
   regarding an alleged affair between a former mayor of Nashville, Tennessee   
   and a member of her security detail, both of whom were criminally prosecuted   
   over the matter.   
      
   In November 2022, Vappie searched online for "(h)ow secure is whatsapp." He   
   later searched the web trying to find the home address of a "member of the   
   news media" who had reported about Vappie, the indictment alleges.   
      
   https://www.nola.com/news/politics/new-orleans-mayors-former-bodyguard-   
   jeffrey-vappie-faces-these-charges-in-federal-indictment/article_4e8dd852-   
   45f9-11ef-83c2-e331f59e5343.html   
      
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