Today, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell makes her first court appearance in the federal case against her.
The government accuses Mayor LaToya Cantrell of bilking taxpayers out of around $70,000 by fudging paperwork to make it appear as if her NOPD bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, was doing legitimate city work when accompanying Cantrell on trips. Prosecutors say Cantrell and Vappie were instead having an intimate affair.
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Attorney and legal analyst Lewis Ungelsby tells us what happens when Cantrell appears before Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby.
"She'll enter her plea, which I presume is not guilty, and the judge will set some dates for things like pretrial motions," said Ungelsby. "And she'll ask how long do they anticipate the case take and then the trial date will be based around those kind of answers."
The mayor faces felony charges including wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and lying to the FBI.
It is unlikely that Cantrell's trail would happen before she leaves office due to term limits in early January.