Building inspector indicted in New Orleans City Hall bribery scheme
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Building inspector Randy Farrell is accused in a federal indictment of giving a public official Saints tickets, a new phone and an $831 steakhouse lunch as part of his efforts to get a city employee fired.
- The official the gifts were intended for was Mayor LaToya Cantrell, per other news outlets citing unnamed sources.
The big picture: Farrell faces 25 counts of wire fraud, honest services fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, according to the federal indictment.
Between the lines: Cantrell was not mentioned by name in Friday's indictment.
- The indictment refers to "Public Official 1," who is described as a "public employee" and a "person in a position of public authority" with advisers and political donors.
- Unnamed sources tell WWL, Fox 8, NOLA.com and WDSU that "Public Official 1" is Cantrell, but Axios has been unable to independently confirm the identity.
- A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.
State of play: Farrell and his company, IECI & Associates, are accused of a years-long scheme to falsify electrical permits in New Orleans.
- Prosecutors say he accepted bribes to let unlicensed electricians work on hundreds of New Orleans homes and then his company fraudulently passed the inspections on the city's behalf.
- Farrell worked with a businessman, who wasn't named in the indictment, to conspire to offer bribes to high-ranking city officials to thwart the investigation into the scheme, prosecutors say.
- Richard T. Simmons Jr., Farrell's attorney, denied the allegations in a statement to Fox 8, adding that "Mr. Farrell did nothing more than complain to city leaders."
Zoom in: Prosecutors say Farrell "encouraged Public Official 1" to fire Jennifer Cecil, the deputy director of the city's safety and permits department. He had the businessman ask the official, too.
- Cecil had been investigating inconsistencies with Farrell's permits, WWL says.
- "Public Official 1" twice asked Cecil's supervisor to fire her, the indictment says. The supervisor refused and resigned instead.
- Cecil resigned in November 2019, the indictment says.
What they said: The businessman texted the official, "you are a [person] of your word," and continued, "thank you so much for handling safety and permit problem," the indictment says.
Context: Cantrell has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
- Leatrice Dupré, the mayor's press secretary, told Axios on Friday afternoon that the communications team would reply to a request for comment "as soon as we can."
Zoom out: The mayor was mentioned throughout the federal indictment of Jeffrey Vappie, a former NOPD officer who worked her security detail.
- Federal prosecutors accused Vappie of falsifying timesheets, lying to the FBI and taking other actions to conceal his romantic relationship with Cantrell for years.
- He pleaded not guilty in August. His trial is set for 2025.
What's next: Cantrell is the target of a "pending, ongoing, wide-ranging active investigation," city attorneys said in court earlier this month.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Farrell's attorney.