What corrections officers are disqualified from holding liquor licenses or being a principal in an entity holding a license in the State of New York?

The Alcohol Beverage Control Law statutorily disqualifies police officers with arresting powers from have a direct or indirect interest in a business having a liquor license. The question that commonly arises is how that applies to corrections officers and prison guards. The answer depends upon who employs him or her. The State Liquor Authority relies on two Attorney General Opinions on this issue. A Corrections Officer directly employed by the State of New York Department of Corrections and Community supervision, who works in a jail or prison performing correction officer duties, is not prohibited from being a license holder. See 1973 Op. Atty. Gen. 22. A Sheriff Deputy employed by a Sheriff’s Department, who is assigned to a jail and performs correction officer duties, is considered to be a subordinate of a police department (a police officer NOT and a corrections officer) and is ineligible to hold a liquor license. See 1980 Op. Atty. Gen. (Inf.) 240.