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Tony Bennett’s Family Feud: Sisters Accuse Brother of Mismanaging Late Father’s Trust

BBG News

Tony Bennett’s children, Antonia and Johanna, have alleged that their brother Danny has been poorly handling the trust set up for their deceased father (Tony Bennett), who passed away at 96, just under two years ago.

In June, they included Danny, Daegal ‘Dae’ Bennett (Antonia and Johanna’s brother), and Susan Benedetto (Tony’s widow) in a legal action concerning the deceased singer’s estate and missing funds.

Previously, it had come to light that Antonia, Johanna, and Daegal are the recipients of The Tony Bennett 1994 Family Trust. Interestingly, Danny, who also served as his late father’s business manager, holds the position of trustee, overseeing the family trust.

In their court submission made in June, the sisters requested that the judge compels Danny, Daegal, and Susan to disclose and hand over any property or assets owned by Tony for a review by the court.

In November, Danny took action on the lawsuit by submitting a request. This request aimed to either reject the petition from the sisters altogether or move it to the jurisdiction of the Surrogate’s Court.

Currently, Antonia and Johanna claim that Danny illegally withdrew substantial amounts of money from the family trust, reportedly up to $2.6 million in commissions. They are seeking the court’s denial of his motion based on a legal filing acquired by PEOPLE on January 3.

They are said to have ‘serious concerns’ about Danny’s alleged ‘mismanagement’ as sole trustee.

According to the documents filed in court, it is claimed that Danny played various roles as a trustee for an extended time before Tony passed away, which involved conflicting duties. Furthermore, they assert that he personally and on behalf of his children, withdrew substantial funds from the Family Trust.

Excitedly, I’ve been following the news about the Family Trust, and it seems that due to Tony’s unfortunate decline in mental capacity, as reported by Danny across numerous media platforms, he could no longer fulfill his role as co-Trustee. This means that Danny is now the sole Trustee, with no supervision, managing the Family Trust following Tony’s passing.

Antonia and Johanna contend that because of the ‘absence of clarity’, they are entitled to have an explanation of Danny’s activities, not just during but also before and after Tony’s demise.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Tony made it explicitly clear in his will that each of his four children would receive an equal share of his estate.

As a dedicated admirer, I couldn’t help but delve deeper into the claims made by Antonia and Johanna. They’ve pointed out that Danny, in their perspective, seemed to have used the family trust at his own discretion, writing checks whenever it suited him.

It is alleged that Danny set up self-gifted trusts worth a total of $200,700 back in the year 2022.

Additionally, they claim Danny began receiving advance payments of $50,000 per month from 2021 onwards – before the official contract was signed in 2022.

According to the records, this additional $50,000 per month was an added income for Danny, on top of his commission earnings, that he received in his role as Tony’s manager.

The sisters have raised doubts about their brother’s statement from 2022, suggesting that Tony was not financially struggling at the time he facilitated the sale of the deceased singer’s musical properties and image rights to Iconoclast.

Antonia and Johanna claim that Tony possessed a significant amount of money, approximately millions of dollars, when the agreement with Iconoclast was finalized.

Additionally, it is asserted that even though Danny reportedly had worries about their father’s wealth, he still made use of the Family Trust assets to bestow gifts on himself and his kids.

It’s claimed that Danny forked out approximately $2.6 million as commission fees to his artistic management firm, RPM Productions.

Simultaneously, according to the legal documents, Johanna and Antonia assert that they have only been given $245,000 each from a trust fund.

As a diligent follower of the details, I can’t definitively say whether the amounts Danny was self-receiving surpassed his rightful dues according to Tony’s contract, given that the specifics about Tony’s earnings remain undisclosed.

The compensation RPM Productions received from Danny seems to be significantly larger than what would be expected, given Tony’s earnings according to the statements and agreements provided by Danny.

Johanna and Antonia claim that Susan, Tony’s widow, and their brother Dae are evading responsibility for Danny’s behavior by opposing the demand for a thorough examination of Bennett’s financial records both prior to and following his passing in 2023.

In my June court filing, Antonia and Johanna stated that we are seeking a fair resolution and assert that Danny fell short in providing a complete accounting of the proceeds from the sale of a portion of the late singer’s catalog, as well as rights to their name, image, and likeness, which were transferred to Iconoclast.

According to the legal documents detailing the transactions, Danny allegedly acquired personal advantages for both himself and his business, along with selling off some of Tony’s personal items and mementos.

According to Antonia and Johanna’s statement in their filing, Danny and his legal team have consistently declined to disclose all necessary details regarding the previously mentioned transactions. As beneficiaries, they emphasize that they have a personal stake in this matter.

Lawyers representing Antonia and Johanna stated in their submission that the information and documents Danny and his legal team have presented in this case are fragmented, failing to provide sufficient clarity on the matters at hand.

In their court submission, Antonia and Johanna’s legal team stated that the details given only create further confusion about the matter and fall short of offering a comprehensive explanation or inventory of Tony’s wealth and fiscal dealings.

According to legal documents, Antonia and Johanna expressed legitimate worries about the amounts that the artist who made “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” had left behind following his death, as detailed in the family trust and the business called Benedetto Arts, LLC, allegedly.

Antonia and Johanna are asking the court to mandate an inventory, accounting, and distribution of all assets in accordance with the specific instructions outlined in the family trust, as stated in the legal documents.

According to court documents, they have requested that Danny provide detailed explanations and supporting documents for all tax-related figures, including expenditures and relevant costs.

On March 19, 2024, Iconoclast revealed they purchased substantial parts of Bennett’s collection of works, including the rights to his name and image. However, Sony Music stated that they still retain ownership of the singer’s catalog, as reported by Billboard.

Additional parts of the agreement involved initiatives bearing the name “Bennett”, including a restaurant in New York City, a wristwatch line, and a documentary on Paramount+ showcasing Bennett’s collaborations with Lady Gaga.

In a previous statement, the company’s founder, Olivier Chastan, expressed: “We’re following in the steps of greats, and Tony was certainly one of them.

Apart from his remarkable skill that shone brightly for more than six decades, Tony leaves behind a legacy marked by character, honesty, compassion, and bravery. It is a great privilege and honor to serve as guardians of this extraordinary and significant cultural icon.

At the given time, Danny expressed, “Over the past 40 years while collaborating with Tony, I never viewed my role as managing a career, instead, it was about nurturing a legacy. As an iconoclast, I will carry on this practice.”

For more than 40 years, working alongside Tony, Danny’s approach wasn’t to manage a career but rather to build and preserve a lasting impact. He, as an innovator, plans to keep up with this methodology.

For the last seven years of his life, Bennett openly discussed his health challenges, which included being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016 as he shared in a 2021 interview with AARP.

The singer’s widow, Susan, stated to the media outlet, ‘There are many aspects of him I deeply miss. However, when he performs, he embodies the old Tony.’

She mentioned that health problems were concealed for many years since Bennett preferred to maintain an image of wellness, not wishing the public to be aware of any potential issues, given his profession revolves around creating a positive and uplifting atmosphere.

Susan mentioned that the Rags to Riches artist at the time often found himself uncertain about his location or the events taking place around him.

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2025-01-16 05:10

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