Latest news with #RitaLeBlanc
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Late billionaire Tom Benson's granddaughter arrested for allegedly shoving cop in parking row
A heated confrontation over a parking violation in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, ended with the former heir to the New Orleans Saints empire in handcuffs. Police say Rita LeBlanc, 48, granddaughter of late Saints owner Tom Benson, allegedly shoved a city parking officer and grabbed their booting tool during the altercation, according to WCSC-TV. The incident on Monday unfolded near the corner of Meeting and Water Streets, where officers responded to reports of a parking enforcement officer being assaulted, according to Charleston police. Sgt. Chris Stinson told WCSC-TV that during the argument, LeBlanc briefly took hold of the officer's boot-locking device as they were attempting to attach it to a vehicle. LeBlanc was arrested at the scene and charged with hindering a city officer. She was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center and released the following day on a personal recognizance bond. A court date has been set for July 24. LeBlanc once held a prominent role within the Saints organization, serving as vice chairman from 2012 to 2014. She was widely regarded as the heir to the team's ownership before a falling out with her grandfather. In December 2014, Tom Benson removed her from her role, while also 'cutting off any future contact,' reported at the time. He later announced that his wife, Gayle Benson, would succeed him as owner. The family rift reportedly stemmed from an incident during a 2014 Saints game, in which LeBlanc allegedly grabbed Gayle Benson by the shoulders and shook her while they were in a private suite. The altercation led to a highly publicized legal battle, with LeBlanc, her brother Ryan, and their mother Renee filing a lawsuit seeking to have Tom Benson declared mentally incompetent, per The suit was ultimately unsuccessful. Tom Benson, who owned both the Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans, passed away in 2018. Gayle Benson remains the principal owner of both franchises.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Disgraced granddaughter of late Saints owner arrested for altercation with South Carolina cop
The granddaughter of late New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson was arrested Monday and accused of interfering with a Charleston, South Carolina police officer as he attempted to put a parking boot on her vehicle. Rita LeBlanc, 48, was released on a personal recognizance bond the following day after being charged with hindering an officer/city employee, according to online jail records. reported that Sargent Christ Stinson accused LeBlanc of taking the locking tool from a parking boot as he attempted to fasten it to one of the wheels of her car. LeBlanc, a former vice chairperson for the Saints, is due back in court on July 24. A child of Benson's adopted daughter, Renee, Rita was fired by her grandfather from the team in 2015 before being disinherited altogether along with her mother and brother, Ryan. She would respond with a lawsuit, challenging Benson's mental competency at the time of his decision. The two sides settled in 2016. Previously, in 2012, Jeff Duncan reported she was suspended from the team because of 'lack of focus and abrasive management style.' Sources told Duncan that LeBlanc's sense of entitlement became an issue with her grandfather, who'd frequently worked six-day weeks despite his immense wealth. Benson's third wife and LeBlanc's stepmother, Gayle, became the Saints' principal owner in 2018 following his death. The Saints have failed to reach the postseason since 2020, while Gayle has faced criticism over a Catholic Church sex scandal in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Associated Press reported in January of 2020 that senior vice president of communications Greg Bensel provided PR advice to church officials as they navigated fallout from a child sex-abuse scandal. The scandal resurfaced before February's Super Bowl in New Orleans when the AP released emails showing the extent of the Saints communications team's involvement with the church. 'This is disgusting,' state Representative Mandie Landry (Democrat - New Orleans) said in February. 'As a New Orleans resident, taxpayer and Catholic, it doesn't make any sense to me why the Saints would go to these lengths to protect grown men who raped children. All of them should have been just as horrified at the allegations.'
