Federal Prosecutors still on the indictment hunt for Mayor Latoya Cantrell

Federal prosecutors seem to still be in hot pursuit of Mayor Latoya Cantrell now that her former bodyguard Jeffrey Vappie has been indicted on charges of wire fraud.

There are some tell-tale signs, though, that announcements could come as it relates to the mayor and it will all depend on the feds are able to uncover.

Professor of Law at Loyola, Dane Ciolino, spoke with WWL’s Tommy Tucker and he says that the fact that the Vappie indictment does not name the mayor and only refers to her as “Public Official #1” is the biggest clue.

“It would seem that they are holding out for Vappie to flip on the mayor. They were very careful in not naming her for a reason.”

Ciolino say the federal investigators are methodical in their handling of cases and they usually turnout multiple indictments for multiple defendants. But, Cantrell can still be one of them.

“No doubt they want the little fish (Vappie) to bring in the big fish (Cantrell).”

Professor Ciolino says that even if the mayor escaped indictment somehow, she could be subpoenaed to testify against Vappie, and there would be no special treatment for her.

“The mayor could be forced by subpoena to give testimony in the trial against Vappie an be held in contempt if she doesn’t. No privileges will be given.”