Jeffrey Vappie pleads not guilty to wire fraud, other federal charges
Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Jeffrey Vappie, a former New Orleans Police Department officer and member of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s security detail, pled not guilty to all the federal charges against him during an arraignment hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
Moments before the arraignment, U.S. attorneys stunned the defense by filing a memorandum in support of a no-contact order.
Despite the defense’s objection, the federal judge ordered that Vappie have limited contact with potential witnesses, which includes Cantrell, as a condition of his release. This means they won’t be allowed to discuss the case with each other.
On July 19, Vappie was formally indicted by a federal grand jury for seven charges of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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The charges stem from Vappie being the center of payroll fraud investigations, alleging he violated NOPD policy by billing the city for police work as he attended meetings for HANO.
In regard to alleged false statements made to the FBI, a separate investigation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, claiming Vappie and Cantrell were involved in a romantic relationship.
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Court documents noted Vappie allegedly used falsified timecards to cover up personal activities, such as eating meals and drinking while reportedly clocked in with the Executive Protection Unit.
During that time, the Public Investigations Bureau made the claim that Vappie would also accompany Cantrell to her Upper Pontalba Apartment.
WGNO’s legal analyst, attorney Cliff Cardone, weighed in. He believes that the government and the defense attorneys may try to carve out a negotiated plea.
“What you can be kind of searching for and looking for is, if during the course of the next several months, that Vappie is charged with a superseding bill of information, not an indictment,” explained Cardone. “That, in all likelihood, means he’s cooperating, and they’re going to be looking at him turning state’s evidence against someone who’s higher up on the chain, and that likely person would be the mayor.”
When Vappie’s defense team was asked if they thought U.S. attorneys were just trying to land Cantrell, attorney Shaun Clarke said, “What do you think?”
If Vappie is found guilty on all eight counts, he could face up to 145 years in prison.
A pre-trial conference was set for Sept. 12, and the trial has been set for Oct. 7.
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