Federal grand jury indicts New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell after long corruption probe

By JIM MUSTIAN, JACK BROOK and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal grand jury indicted New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday after a long corruption investigation.

Cantrell’s lawyer, Eddie Castaing, confirmed to The Associated Press that an indictment was returned, and her name was read aloud by a federal magistrate judge as a defendant. The charges weren’t immediately known.

The indictment is the culmination of a long-running federal investigation into Cantrell, the first female mayor in the city’s 300-year history.

Cantrell, who is term-limited, will leave office in January. The Democrat has clashed with City Council members during a turbulent second term and survived a recall effort in 2022.

She hasn’t sent out a message on her official feed on X, formerly known as Twitter, since July 15, when she touted that the city was experiencing historical declines in crime.

As Cantrell heads into her final months in office, she’s alienated former confidants and supporters, and her civic profile has receded. Her early achievements were eclipsed by self-inflicted wounds and bitter feuds with a hostile city council, political observers say. The mayor’s role has weakened following voter-approved changes to the city’s charter meant to curb her authority.

Cantrell and her remaining allies allege that she’s been unfairly targeted as Black woman and held to a different standard than male officials, her executive powers sabotaged. Earlier this year, Cantrell said she’s faced “very disrespectful, insulting, in some cases kind of unimaginable” treatment.

Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.