Madison Square Garden Claims Collusion Between Banned Lawyers and Liquor Authority, Seeking Phone Records in New Petition Against Verizon

(Photo: Colynary Media/Unsplash)

The Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation (MSG) and billionaire CEO James Dolan have been embroiled in litigation in the ongoing case with the New York liquor authority. In Monday’s court filing, MSG claimed the New York State Liquor Authority colluded with lawyers barred from MSG locations. MSG is officially petitioning Verizon for cellphone records from an SLA investigator to prove this alleged collusion.

The SLA began an investigation into MSG after reports of lawyers being banned from New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and Beacon Theatre. These individuals were barred due to their association with open cases against MSG. The SLA threatened to revoke MSG’s liquor licenses because a stipulation of the license is being open to the public. 

In the filing, MSG claimed that Verizon phone records from an SLA investigator, Charles Stravelle “will show that the SLA is acting outside its statutory authority and, worse, is acting on the direction of private attorneys with an axe to grind.” This is the same investigator that MSG CEO, Dolan reportedly hired a private investigator to tail. 

MSG sent a subpoena to Verizon on Feb. 28 in order to see Stravalle’s cellphone records. The petition is meant to enforce this since the corporation believes SLA blocked Verizon from complying. 

The court filing states, “the evidentiary record against the SLA’s collusion is already extensive, including that the SLA blocked Respondent Verizon from complying with this subpoena—as Respondent Verizon repeatedly said it intended to do—to obstruct MSG’s defense. In short, the SLA does not want these records produced.“

The corporation maintains that SLA has overreached and abused its power in the case against MSG. The entertainment group certainly is not opposed to creating long winded court filings and there will likely be many more to come before this case is concluded. 

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