New York Knicks owner James Dolan is not the most beloved owner in basketball, and for a good reason: He’s a savage. Recently, he has declared war on New York state and, expressly, the New York State Liquor Authority resorting to less-than-savory tactics to ensure he keeps his liquor license.
First, Dolan went full gorilla and installed facial recognition to identify lawyers preparing litigation against him and denying them entry into his properties, which prompted administrative charges.
The exclusion of the lawyers prompted the State Liquor Authority to assign an investigator, retired police captain Charles Stravalle, to decide if Madison Square Garden can keep serving alcohol at New York Knicks and New York Rangers games. The premise is that Dolan’s segmenting of the investigating attorneys is a ban on some sports fans, which violates state beverage laws requiring establishments to admit the general public.
James Dolan: American Gangster
Then Dolan went full-on gangster, having investigator Stravalle followed, per The New York Times. Once he realized he grew a tail, Stravalle called the NYPD after being followed by a Black Chevy for over 100 miles. The car even tailed him to his home in Queens, and he stayed there shooting pictures with a camera pointed toward right at his house.
When police later pulled over the driver of the Chevy, he was identified as a private investigator. Dolan stands to lose his alcohol privileges at Madison Square Garden and other venues, including Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre.
Four violations were levied against Dolan, who, in turn, filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 11 to halt the State Liquor Authority blockages.
“This gangster-like governmental organization has finally run up against an entity that won’t cower in the face of their outrageous abuses,” Dolan said to The New York Post.
But this is not the first time he has declared war on New York state, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he would pull out all the stops for those trying to stop his paper. Dolan is going straight mob style, bringing it to John Q. Law.
In the words of Kevin Gates, “I think I’m John Gotti.”
Dolan On The Offense
“So I have a little surprise for them,” Dolan said to “Good Day New York” in January. “They’re basically doing this for publicity, so we’re going to give them some publicity. What we’re going to do, right, is we’re going to pick a night, maybe a Rangers game, and we’re going to shut down all the liquor and alcohol in the building,” Dolan said. “This isn’t going to bother me because I’ve been sober 29 years. I don’t need the liquor.”
Dolan insisted that if denied his liquor license, MSG would post signs alerting fans to contact Sharif Kabir, the liquor authority’s CEO, to reinstate their drinking privileges. Dolan even gave out Kabir’s email address and phone number.
James Dolan has made many enemies during his tenure as the big boss of Manhattan sports, and it doesn’t look like that list will get any shorter soon.
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