Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday became the latest in a long line of New Orleans-area politicians to face federal criminal charges, a list that spans nearly every elected office: mayors, parish presidents, council and school board members, state lawmakers, judges, district attorneys, sheriffs, a coroner and a U.S. representative.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at City Hall on July 30, 2025.
She is the second New Orleans mayor to face charges in the last 15 years, and is at least the 27th elected official from southeast Louisiana to be indicted this century.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, file photo, former Louisiana congressman William Jefferson, left, stands outside the Albert V. Bryan Courthouse with his wife, Andrea after being convicted on 11 of 16 counts in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)
Several of the cases were of national significance, including that of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, who was convicted of bribery in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years after FBI agents seized $90,000 in cash from his freezer. Also making national headlines was the indictment of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the only other of the city's mayors to face corruption charges. Nagin took his chances with a jury and was convicted in 2014 on 20 counts of bribery, money laundering and other charges.
Just one local politician in recent memory has beat federal charges. That was Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, who was acquitted of tax evasion in 2022 and remains in office.
Another revived his political career. New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas, who pleaded guilty to a bribery charge in 2007 and served a three-year prison sentence, was elected to the District E seat and is now running for mayor. Thomas was serving in at-large seat at the time of his conviction.
Other New Orleans City Council members sentenced to prison time have included Renee Gill Pratt and Jon Johnson. Gretna City Council member Jonathan Bolar was convicted of extortion and other financial crimes in 2010, garnering a 17-year sentence. He was released last October and died four months later. Former Jefferson Parish Council member Chris Roberts died of an apparent suicide while under indictment in 2020.
Former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard is pictured here on July 6, 2020. The former Jefferson Parish president spent 46 months in various federal facilities after pleading guilty to corruption. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune)
Two years before Nagin’s conviction, former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard pleaded guilty to bribery, wire fraud and theft charges, resulting in a four-year sentence. Broussard was released in 2016 and started a prison ministry.
A slew of St. Tammany Parish officials have also served time for corruption. Former District Attorney Walter Reed was sentenced to four years in 2016. Former Coroner Peter Galvan received a two-year sentence in 2012. And former Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price was sentenced to 64 months in 2010.
Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain walks into the parish courthouse before the start of closing arguments on eight counts of sex crimes in Covington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain’s crimes went beyond corruption. He was sentenced to life in prison after state convictions for eight sex crimes, including rape, aggravated incest and molestation of a juvenile. He later received an additional 10 year federal sentence on bribery charges.
Another former sheriff, Jiff Hingle of Plaquemines Parish, was sentenced to 46 months on a single conspiracy conviction in 2013.
Two Jefferson Parish judges -- Ronald Bodenheimer and Alan Green -- were ensnared in the nine-year "Operation Wrinkled Robe" investigation in the early 2000s. And former St. Bernard Parish Judge Wayne Cresap received a five-year sentence for bribery in 2010 as part of an unrelated investigation.
Local elected officials indicted since 2000
Wesley Bishop - State Representative
Jonathan Bolar - Gretna City Council
Ronald Bodenheimer - Jefferson Parish Judge
Ellenese Brooks-Simms - Orleans Parish School Board
Aaron Broussard - Jefferson Parish President
Wayne Cresap - St. Bernard Parish Judge
Peter Galvan - St. Tammany Parish Coroner
Renee Gill Pratt - New Orleans City Council
Alan Green - Jefferson Parish Judge
Jiff Hingle - Plaquemines Parish Sheriff
Bill Hubbard - St. John Parish President
Joe Impastato - St. Tammany Parish Council
Betty Jefferson - Orleans Parish Assessor
William Jefferson - U.S. Congress
Jon Johnson - New Orleans City Council
Harry Morell - St. Charles Parish District Attorney
Ray Nagin - New Orleans Mayor
Karen Carter Peterson - State Senator
Eddie Price - Mandeville Mayor
Chris Roberts - Jefferson Parish Council
Walter Reed - St. Tammany Parish District Attorney
Derrick Shepherd - State Senator
Jack Strain - St. Tammany Parish Sheriff
Ira Thomas - Orleans Parish School Board
Oliver Thomas - New Orleans City Council
Jason Williams - Orleans Parish District Attorney
