Could New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell face criminal charges related to her adultery her NOPD bodyguard?
It's possible.
After reports that the mayor was having an affair with NOPD Officer Jeffrey Vappie, his wife filed for divorce. Legal Analyst Doug Sunseri says court filings in that case show Vappie admitted to the extra marital relationship.
"There was an amended petition disclosing that the mayor was involved in an adulterous relationship with Jeffrey Vappie. The interesting part about that, that's a verified petition," The host of All Things Legal on WWL explained. "That verified petition says that he admitted to it."
Sunseri says that opens a Pandora's box of not only political and civil problems for the married mayor, but criminal ones too.
"That would be payroll fraud. That would be malfeasance. That would be a whole host of charges against the mayor and abusing her office in a criminal fashion."
He asserted that things get especially bad for the mayor if Vappie takes an offer of immunity to cooperate with prosecutors.
Sunseri says a mayor paying a police officer to work as a body guard, but instead having sex with him while he was on the clock is also a perfect setup for Vappie to seek sexual harassment and other civil violations.