MLB: McCourt siphoned $190M from Dodgers

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt took nearly $190 million from the team through "looting," Major League Baseball said in a court filing in Delaware.

The league, in court papers, says McCourt siphoned $189.16 million -- $73 million in parking revenue through Blue Land Co., a non-team related entity, $61.16 million in team revenue to pay personal debts and $55 million from team revenue for personal distributions.

The Los Angeles Times says the league described McCourt's taking the funds from the team as "looting."

Commissioner Bud Selig has argued McCourt should be ousted for mismanagement.

The league said McCourt had broken 10 MLB rules and violating any one of them would be grounds to terminate the franchise.

"The Dodgers are in bankruptcy because McCourt has taken almost $190 million out of the club and has completely alienated the Dodgers' fan base," the MLB filing read.

The Times said Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan nearly beaten to death at a game in Los Angeles on Opening Day, could emerge as a central figure in the case.

The league said Stow's beating revealed lax security during McCourt's ownership.

The Dodgers said in court papers that Selig "set about fabricating the public misimpression that security at Dodger Stadium was somehow inadequate."

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross has ruled security at Dodger Stadium is a legitimate issue in the bankruptcy case. Thomas Girardi, Stow's attorney, has said his client's medical bills could exceed $50 million.

A creditors' committee and Fox Sports asked Gross to deny the Dodgers' move to auction television rights, a critical piece of McCourt's strategy to emerge from bankruptcy as the team's owner.