How Did Tom Benson Make His Money

NEW ORLEANS -- In the 10 years since their marriage, Gayle Benson has become a fixture at her husband Tom Benson's side at press conferences, at Pelicans and Saints games and at every NFL owner's meeting since their marriage.

Still to this day, where Tom Benson goes, Gayle goes.

Some see it as doting dedication, but Benson's heirs, daughter Renee and grandchildren Ryan and Rita LeBlanc, have said it has driven a wedge in the once tight-knit family.

Benson and his heirs are battling in court over Tom's desire to hand the teams and his billion-dollar business empire over to Gayle as his successor. Her business background could come into play not only with the NFL and the NBA, but in court.

"If either court in Texas or Louisiana decides to strip Mr. Benson of the ability to handle his affairs and the trust, then the issue will become who should be the trustee? Who should be the curator of Mr. Benson's affairs?" asked Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino.

Gayle Benson spent the '80s and '90s dressing up the appearances of people's homes and businesses as an interior designer, including work at several major hotels in the city. But a look beyond the window dressing of her life shows a woman in financial trouble just before she met and married Tom.

Gayle Benson has been part of legal action in more than 30 different cases both professionally and personally since the 1980s.

"Litigation is a cost of doing business today. Some businesses are involved in more litigation than others. But what's striking about the litigation involved here is that it doesn't just involve business disputes, it involves a diversity of judgments and litigation including car notes, condo fees, mortgage notes, and that to me is unusual," Ciolino said.

Gayle Benson was most recently married to Thomas Bird, the owner of a now-defunct construction and development company. She was listed as one of its registered agents with the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office in 1987. One of the lawsuits is related to that company.

At the same time, Gayle was building her interior design business called Gayle Bird Interiors or Gayle Bird Design Associates.

She served on the first Louisiana Licensing Board for Interior Designers, but the agency says her license lapsed in 1994.

Gayle Benson was sued 15 times over business disputes from the Court of Two Sisters restaurant to the Lake Marina Towers Condo Association.

The Court of Two Sisters restaurant owner Joseph Fein clarified that Bird was named in his lawsuit over some chairs that fell apart that she selected in her renovation of three of the restaurant's dining rooms. Overall, he was pleased with her services.

Gayle filed suit three times, including a suit against the Fairmont Hotel in 1996, saying they didn't pay her for $33,000 worth of design work. The hotel argued they never had a contract for it, but ultimately a judge dismissed the case in 2003.

A number of the lawsuits against Benson resulted from unhappy customers, including the owner of a St. Charles Avenue condo named James Arcara.

He said he paid Benson more than $238,000 to decorate his condo, but sued for what he called poor workmanship, over billing and not finishing the job in a timely manner.

She counter sued, arguing she was locked out and wasn't allowed to finish the job.

In the end, they settled. Arcara's lawyer Ernest Burguieres told us his client "sued her for repairs to an apartment in a dispute about what was done. At the end of the day, we took her car in lieu of payment."

It was a 1996 Mercedes Benz. She married Tom Benson a year later.

"My clients have only known her for the past 10 years. She's only been a part of their life for the past 10 years and I think there's a lot of questions that you know, is she the saint that she's been made out to be?" asked Randy Smith, attorney for Renee Benson and Ryan and Rita LeBlanc.

They are heirs who were in line to take over the teams and the businesses until Tom Benson cut them out of his life in December.

"My clients haven't been allowed to see their father and grandfather for three months. They're worried about him. They're concerned that the people are really looking out for him," Smith said.

The attorney for Tom and Gayle Benson, Phil Wittmann, said the same thing about Gayle, that, "…she cares deeply for the health and well being of her husband Tom Benson."

Since their marriage, Gayle has been serving on a number of philanthropic boards, including Tulane University and the Catholic Foundation. She has been a key fundraiser for Ochsner Cancer Center and the New Orleans Museum of Art, helping them raise millions in addition to the money the Bensons donated.

Before she began her life as a billionaire's wife, she had a number of happy customers in her interior design portfolio as well, including grocery store magnate John Schwegmann.

Schwegmann's grocery stores hired her at one point "for assistance in color selection, maybe certain graphics and whatever inside the supermarket," Schwegmann said. "She assisted with remodels and also with the construction of new stores."

He said Benson helped pick the paint colors for the interiors of Schwegmann's grocery stores and decorated their private home for Christmas one year.

"She is very congenial. That is a prerequisite when you are trying to sell yourself and sell your services as an interior decorator needs to do," Schwegmann said.

But Gayle Benson's legal troubles didn't just stem from her interior design business. Foreclosure proceedings were initiated against three of the properties she owned, two of them with her ex-husband, the third against her house on Valence Street.

That's despite renting out the house for events, something she advertised in a flyer with the picture of the house on it.

An attorney for the Bensons, Phil Wittmann issued a statement about Gayle's financial past saying in part, "Gayle Benson is a woman who was born and raised in New Orleans and is a person of the highest integrity. As someone that went through an unfortunate marriage, she overcame the issues that marriage presented to her as single woman and business owner, who by the way, built her business without the assistance of someone handing her anything. While she does not dispute her struggles, she should be saluted not vilified for her ability to deal with those issues that were brought upon her by others."

Her ex-husband Thomas Bird didn't want to comment other than to say they had a "difficult time."

Eight of the judgments against Gayle Benson were dated after she and Bird legally separated.

In 1987, she had a $7,800 judgment against her for not paying the car note on her Mercedes-Benz.

Despite that, Benson always favored the cars and her attorney says she's the one responsible for securing their naming rights for the Louisiana Superdome.

Wittmann credits Gayle for keeping the Pelicans in town and said in a statement that, "It can be argued that very few people in the city of New Orleans have done more for the city in helping stand it back up post-Katrina then [sic] Gayle Benson. She is widely respected in NFL & NBA circles for her giving."

That said, Smith, the heirs' attorney, said the questions about Gayle's past should be asked. We asked him whether they should also be asked about his clients.

"It could come into play as well to the extent that the judge is having to decide who would best be responsible or partially responsible to handle Tom Benson's interests going forward," he replied.

An Orleans Parish Civil Court judge is expected to get the report on Tom Benson's mental state in the coming days. At that point, he will decide whether Benson is capable of handling his own business affairs.

Analysts have told Eyewitness News in the past that if the three doctors don't agree on their diagnosis, the judge could hold a full-blown evidentiary hearing on it, calling witnesses to testify to Benson's mental state.

After that, Gayle Benson's background, and the backgrounds of the heirs, could all come into play.

Attorney for Renee Benson and Ryan and Rita LeBlanc, Randy Smith points out that Rita has already been extensively vetted by the NFL to take over the Saints. Gayle Benson would likely go through the same process. Gayle's supporters add that Tom has intimately involved her in the financial workings of the team and the NFL by taking her to a number of high-level meetings over the years.