This incident certainly raised eyebrows.
Rita LeBlanc, the granddaughter of the late Tom Benson, was arrested on Monday for allegedly pushing a parking enforcement officer in Charleston, South Carolina, as reported.
The 48-year-old faces charges for obstructing an officer or city employee but was released the following day after posting a personal recognition bond.
According to Sergeant Chris Stinson, LeBlanc had attempted to interfere with the parking boot that officials were trying to place on her vehicle.
Officers were called to the scene after reports of the altercation surfaced.
Her court date has been set for July 24.
LeBlanc, who served as the vice president of the Saints from 2012 until 2014, had been seen as a potential successor to the team. However, she was let go by Benson in December 2014, a move that dramatically shifted the family dynamics.
Back in December, during a game against the Falcons, she reportedly had a physical confrontation with Gale Benson, her step-grandmother and the team’s current owner, inside their family suite.
Sources indicated that LeBlanc had been acting aggressively, grabbing Gale by the shoulder in what appeared to be a heated moment.
Following Tom Benson’s announcement in January 2015 that Gale would be his sole successor, LeBlanc found herself increasingly distanced from the family business.
In legal troubles that followed, she and her brother Ryan settled a lawsuit in 2016 regarding her mental competency.
Despite the chaos, LeBlanc expressed in interviews that she believed she would still retain a stake in the Saints, but her feelings about the situation were complicated. “I’m not saying I’m happy. I’m satisfied,” she mentioned, hinting at the deep personal toll the incidents have taken on her life.
The Saints recently concluded a challenging season with a record of 5-12, their worst since 2003, coinciding with the unexpected early retirement of quarterback Derek Carr.
