Tony Bennett’s daughters have accused their brother of mishandling the late singer’s assets in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Antonia and Johanna Bennett claim D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett “obtained personal benefits for himself and his company” from different transactions, including the sale of memorabilia.
The daughters also allege Danny did not properly account for all the proceeds from the sale of Tony’s catalog to Iconoclast earlier this year.
“It remains unclear what music assets (and other property) were or were not sold as part of the deal” because Antonia and Johanna “have not been provided with various details of the transaction despite repeated requests,” the filing stated.
TONY BENNETT’S DECADES-LONG CAREER: 70-PLUS ALBUMS AND RECORD-BREAKING MUSIC
The information Danny had provided to his sisters only raised “more questions,” they claimed.
“Although Danny and his counsel have provided piecemeal information and produced some documents to petitioners’ counsel, the information provided raises more questions than answers and fails to provide anything close to an accounting of Tony’s assets and financial affairs,” court docs said.
Danny, who was the singer’s manager and runs the family trust, did not respond Thursday to requests for comment on the lawsuit. Another brother, Daegal “Dae” Bennett, and Tony’s widow, Susan Benedetto, were also named in the lawsuit.
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Antonia and Johanna are seeking “equitable relief.” Tony’s daughters are demanding Danny hand over a full accounting of the late singer’s trust along with receipts, disbursements, expenditures and tax returns.
Tony died at the age of 96, according to a post shared on the singer’s Instagram page on July 21, 2023.
“Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, ‘Because of You,’ his first #1 hit,” the caption read. “Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever.”
Tony’s goal for his career was to create “a hit catalog rather than hit records.” He certainly accomplished that by releasing over 70 albums after launching his career in 1949. The singer’s breakthrough moment occurred in 1951 after he released “Because of You,” which would become Tony’s first No. 1 hit.
Some of his most popular releases include “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” “Love for Sale,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “Duets II.”
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His final album, “Love for Sale,” was recorded with his longtime friend and collaborator, Lady Gaga, and released in 2021. The album was actually the pair’s second album. Gaga recorded “Cheek to Cheek” with Tony in 2014.
With the release of his second collaboration with Gaga, Tony broke a Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material. He was 95 years and 60 days old when the album was released on Oct. 1, 2021.
The release also helped Tony break the record for the longest-running top-10 album on the Billboard 200 chart for any living person.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
