Saints hire former FBI head to run team probe
The New Orleans Saints, who have faced waves of negative publicity this off-season, reportedly have hired former FBI director Louis Freeh.
Saints owner Tom Benson has retained Freeh to do an internal investigation of the team and its operations, ProFootballTalk.com reported Friday according to an NFL source.
The club has been the talk of the league's off-season after a pay-for-bounty scandal has left coach Sean Payton suspended for the season and general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt hit with suspensions for part of this season, among other sanctions.
Also, Loomis has been accused of engage in illegal wiretapping, which has the attention of the Justice Department; Rita Benson LeBlanc, the team's vice president and heir to Benson, was reportedly suspended by her grandfather; and the team has had trouble single popular quarterback Drew Brees.
Freeh currently runs a private investigative firm and law practice. ProFootballTalk reported he was hired in April to do the investigation of the team's operations.
"Serious allegations have been made about our organization this off-season; we take these allegations very seriously," team spokesman Greg Bensel said via email. "As a result, we have hired the Freeh Group, founded by former director of the FBI and former federal judge Louis Freeh. Mr. Benson moved quickly to hire them and has spared no expense to get to the bottom of these allegations. We have given the Freeh Group complete access to our team and all of the individuals who have been associated with this news story."
