Mayor LaToya Cantrell reacts after City Hall bribery accusations
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Mayor LaToya Cantrell speaks during a Super Bowl-related press conference Feb. 12 in Las Vegas. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Mayor LaToya Cantrell lamented Tuesday the accusations swirling around City Hall — the latest coming as a result of a federal bribery indictment against building inspector Randy Farrell.
Why it matters: Cantrell is the target of a "pending, ongoing, wide-ranging active investigation," city attorneys said in court last month.
- She has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
The big picture: Cantrell was before the City Council on Tuesday making budget requests for her administration.
- "How I came in seems to be how I'm going out," she said at the beginning of her presentation, according to a recording from Fox 8. "Accusation after accusation after accusation. But also a track record of delivering results."
- She left the council chambers without answering questions from reporters, WWL and Fox 8 said.
Catch up quick: Building inspector Randy Farrell was accused last week in the 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 Cantrell, per other news outlets citing unnamed sources. They also reported that Gilbert Montaño, the city's chief administrative officer, is the other official in the indictment accused of accepting Saints tickets.
- The indictment refers to them as "Public Official 1" and "Public Official 2." Axios has been unable to independently confirm the identities in the document.
Between the lines: Cantrell gave Montaño a vote of confidence Tuesday when she introduced him at the council meeting, saying he is "second to none."
What he's saying: Terry Davis, the city's communications director, talked with WWL after Tuesday's meeting about the accusation that city leaders accepted Saints tickets.
- "So much of what we do in the city of New Orleans has social engagement to it," he said in a recorded interview. "I know there are rules and guidelines. I don't even want to say a gray area. It's just something that I think ethics and everyone has to look at as to which is what."
Cantrell is mentioned in the federal indictment of Jeffrey Vappie, a former NOPD officer who worked her security detail.
- Federal prosecutors accuse 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.