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Damon Dash's Gallery Space Charged With Liquor Violation

Dame's multi-purpose Tribeca space, DD172, has been closed for selling alcohol without a license.

Damon Dash, the do-it-all hip hop entrepreneur and mogul, is having more trouble with the government. We recently reported that the Roc-a-fella co-founder owed over $2 million dollars to the IRS in back taxes. Now an unrelated issue has popped up regarding six counts of storing and selling alcohol without a license.

DD172 was located in swanky Tribeca and hosted art shows, performances and served as a photo studio and rehearsal space. Neighbors looked at the "media collective" as an unlicensed club and it seems the authorities agree. One neighbor interviewed by the Village Voice, who broke the story, says, "Damon Dash was a terrible neighbor. It was always super loud, super noisy, tons of garbage in the street. All these 18-year-old kids smoking and drinking—real thugs."

Because there were numerous violations, the first occurring in November 2010 and the most recent in May, there will be little room for leniency. One document claims the violations, "were conducted in an open and notorious manner and the operators of this establishment appear to have evinced a 'business as usual' attitude in the subject premises."

No word on how this may be connected to Dame's ongoing case with the IRS. The court date is set for September 14th and hopefully Dame will be able to prove that he was not running an illegal club. He's been in the game for a long time and has always managed to land on his feet.

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