‘Abusive’ NY bureaucracy targets MSG’s private investigator as state threatens 'gangster-like' retaliation

Fox News' Janice Dean speaks with professional bull rider Daylon Swearingen about New York's bull riding community and the upcoming competition. 

EXCLUSIVE - A New York private investigator hired by Madison Square Garden could lose his license to operate as tensions heighten around the State Liquor Authority (SLA) working to strip the venue of its ability to sell alcohol, Fox News Digital has learned.

James Dolan, the New York billionaire and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, has been sparring with the SLA for months over MSG’s use of facial recognition software to ban some visitors and customers. Among those banned from New York City’s staple venues, which also includes Radio City and the Beacon Theater, are attorneys who are in active litigation against Dolan or MSG.

Dolan and his team claim these banned attorneys are working with the state agency in order to get the liquor license pulled. 

The SLA hit Dolan and his properties with administrative charges over him banning the lawyers, threatening Knicks and Rangers fans' ability to buy beer and other alcoholic beverages at games. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp filed a petition in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Saturday, asking a judge to stop the SLA and charged that the liquor authority is a "gangster-like governmental organization," the New York Post reported this weekend.

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James L. Dolan attends the 5th Annual Little Steven's Policeman's Ball at Mandarin Oriental New York on Dec. 20, 2019 in New York City. ( Bobby Bank/Getty Images)

"This gangster-like governmental organization has finally run up against an entity that won’t cower in the face of their