NFL Heiress Arrested After Shoving Parking Officer
The once presumptive heir to the New Orleans Saints was arrested Monday in Charleston, South Carolina.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Rita LeBlanc, once the presumptive heir to the New Orleans Saints, was arrested Monday in Charleston, South Carolina, for allegedly shoving a parking officer.
The 48-year-old, granddaughter of late multibillion-dollar team owner Tom Benson, is accused of pushing a parking enforcement officer and grabbing a parking boot-locking tool while the officer was applying it to a vehicle on June 16.
Benson was the owner of the New Orleans Saints, a football team, and the Pelicans, a basketball team.
Tom Benson was the owner of the New Orleans Saints, a football team, and the Pelicans, a basketball team.
REUTERS/Sean Gardner
LeBlanc was charged with hindering an officer or city employee and released the following day on a personal recognizance bond, according to Live5News.com, which cited Charleston County jail records.
Her initial court appearance is scheduled for July 24, Nola.com reported. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Charleston Police Department for comment.
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LeBlanc’s arrest adds another chapter to the long-running and very public Benson family saga. From 2012 to 2014, she served as an executive and co-owner of the Saints and the Pelicans and was widely seen as the successor to her grandfather, who eventually fired her, according to Nola.com.
The family dispute escalated in 2015 after Benson announced that his wife, Gayle Benson—whom he married in 2004—would inherit both sports teams.
LeBlanc, along with her mother, Renee, and brother, Ryan, filed a suit attempting to have Benson declared mentally incompetent. A judge ultimately ruled Benson was of sound mind, and the will was allowed to proceed.
Benson died in 2018, and the Saints and Pelicans officially passed to Gayle Benson. The deadline to contest Benson’s will expired in March 2023 with no challenge filed.
Rita LeBlanc was widely seen as the successor to her grandfather, who eventually fired her.
Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
LeBlanc has kept a low public profile in recent years. In a 2016 interview with Sports Business Daily, she said: “I wouldn’t say I’m happy. I’m fulfilled. I don’t have a private life. There’s miserable things in the press and miserable things that aren’t being reported. No family should have to go through this.”
She has not publicly commented on the arrest.
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