Who Me, Straw Man? Yankee Fan Sues Over Ticket Rescind

BRONX, N.Y. (CN) - Saying he got “caught in the cross-fire” of the war on ticket resellers, a stock broker sued the New York Yankees on Thursday for voiding the nine season tickets he purchased for a whopping $134,000.

“Without any basis whatsoever, the Yankees have arbitrarily branded plaintiff a ‘straw man’ for the unnamed ‘unlicensed ticket broker’ and revoked his season tickets,” claims Gregory Mascaro of Ronkonkoma.

Represented by the Manhattan firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, Mascaro brought the suit this morning in Bronx Supreme Court.

The tickets were supposed to be located in Section 121A, Row 7, and Mascaro denies that he ever schemed to resell them, saying he wanted them for personal use and to entertain clients.

Even the act of buying the tickets was an ordeal, allegedly requiring “numerous conversations and email exchanges” before Mascaro wired $134,662.50 over to the Yankees on Feb. 23, 2018. This amount “constituted payment in full of the first year of the 10-year term promised by the Yankees,” the complaint states.

Mascaro says the Yankees initially offered no explanation for why they gave him back his money and refused to issue his tickets. They later disclosed that he had been pegged as a straw buyer.

“The Yankees’ proffered explanation for revoking the season tickets has no basis in fact and is little more than a cynical attempt by the Yankees to hoard tickets for themselves and charge artificially inflated prices to the detriment of plaintiff and the public at large,” the complaint states.

In addition to breach of contract, Mascaro alleges one count under New York’s Arts & Cultural Law. He demands an injunction reinstating his 10-year ticket agreement, plus $1 million.

A representative for the Yankees has not returned an email seeking comment.

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