An explosive new court docket submitting alleges Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos and his mom “plundered” tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from ailing crew proprietor Peter Angelos, purchased a better share of the franchise and shielded property from potential collectors.
The allegations had been made by Peter Angelos’ youthful son, Louis Angelos, in an up to date lawsuit in opposition to his brother and mom. They depict an alleged scheme by which, within the 5 years for the reason that patriarch fell ailing and have become incapacitated, John and Georgia Angelos “systematically drained” a checking account that held greater than $65 million, leaving about $400,000 as of a number of months in the past.
“Peter’s wife, Georgia, and his son, John, have failed him, shirked their responsibilities and breached their legal duties, in multiple, catastrophic ways,” in accordance with the amended grievance filed Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court by attorneys for Louis Angelos.
The submitting says mom and son secretly purchased extra shares of the crew from one other member of the Baltimore Orioles Limited Partnership that, with Peter Angelos as the bulk investor, owns the crew.
Neither the quantity of the shares nor the vendor is recognized, though it’s apparently a girl. The present partnership consists of two girls by identify, Wanda King, the primary spouse of the late writer Tom Clancy, and Pam Shriver, the previous tennis star. It additionally consists of estates and a basis that would embody or be represented by girls.
The investor “expressed an interest in selling a portion of her ownership in the Orioles,” in accordance with the submitting, and in December 2021, Georgia Angelos and John Angelos “approved the purchase of her stock.” The submitting goes on to say that Louis Angelos, 53, believes his father’s property had been used to borrow funds for the acquisition.
“Peter received no benefit from this transaction, but was forced to incur the debt,” the submitting states.
Steven D. Silverman, who represents John Angelos, stated Tuesday in an e-mail: “Defense counsel will respond to the latest round of falsehoods and fabrications in due course.”
Former state Attorney General Doug Gansler, who represents Georgia Angelos, decried in a textual content each Louis Angelos’ swimsuit in opposition to his circle of relatives members and now the brand new submitting’s “vicious false accusations.”
“These desperate allegations do nothing to salvage his misguided case,” he stated.
Louis Angelos’ legal professional, Jeffrey E. Nusinov, declined to remark.
The household’s authorized battle is escalating at a time when crew management faces a number of main selections, from whether or not to increase its lease to proceed taking part in at Camden Yards to boosting its ranks of largely younger gamers with higher-priced expertise to turn out to be extra aggressive on the sector.
Earlier this month, John Angelos deflected questions in regards to the affect of the household authorized battle on the way forward for the Orioles — the litigation revealed Georgia Angelos sought to promote the crew — whereas promising to offer solutions at a gathering with the media that has but to be held.
The new submitting additionally alleges that John Angelos, 55, and Georgia Angelos, 81, transferred property from Peter Angelos, 93, “to insulate them” from potential collectors that would embody former purchasers of his regulation agency. Peter Angelos’ decades-old Baltimore regulation agency received tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} over time on behalf of steelworkers and others harmed by asbestos.
Of the $65 million that was in a Wells Fargo account in Peter Angelos’ identify in October 2017, when his well being started declining, the most important single switch, $26.75 million, went to a checking account held by his spouse, the submitting stated. “The bulk” of that was transferred instantly after a bunch of purchasers filed a malpractice swimsuit in opposition to Peter Angelos and his regulation agency in 2021, to protect property from a possible judgment, the submitting alleges.
According to the submitting, the purchasers’ swimsuit stems from a 1992 case by which an organization, MCIC, was discovered answerable for workmen injured at websites the place it put in asbestos-containing insulation. The firm’s insurers swore in affidavits that they may cowl solely $12 million value of claims, prompting the Angelos agency accept that quantity.
“The affidavits were false,” the submitting stated, and in 2005, Angelos sued on behalf of about 8,000 plaintiffs “claiming that they had been defrauded by the insurers.”
But these claims had been dismissed for coming after the statute of limitations expired. The Angelos agency appealed, however in September 2017, the state’s highest court docket declined to listen to the case.
The subsequent month, Peter Angelos had a coronary heart assault and underwent profitable cardiac surgical procedure, however by the next summer time he ended his storied authorized profession. He ultimately turned too ailing to handle his affairs.
The new submitting depicts John Angelos as an aggrieved son who felt underappreciated and underpaid by his father. It quotes from so-called manifestoes that John Angelos wrote, together with one from March 3, 2015, by which he stated he’s created tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} of money move and wealth for the household’s corporations but his wage by no means exceeded $175,000 on the Orioles or $225,000 at Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, often known as MASN.
He wrote that he was “severely” underpaid, “notwithstanding my vast experience in managing team operations and my diversity of in depth and hands on experience in sports and in media business expertise and a combined skill set unparalleled among any Mlb [Major League Baseball] chief executives.”
Peter Angelos’ incapacity offered, the submitting stated, “an opening to obtain the recognition, power and compensation that he believed was his due.”
With his mom, who serves as Peter Angelos’ attorney-in-fact, rubber-stamping and generally even signing paperwork with out studying them, John Angelos was capable of take away his brother and one other official as administrators of Baltimore Orioles Inc., the overall managing entity that carried out oversight of the Orioles, the submitting stated. It added that John Angelos elevated his wage, though the quantities had been redacted from the submitting, and amended the Orioles partnership settlement to provide the “control person” designated by MLB veto energy over any votes. That management individual is John Angelos.
The submitting claims that on Jan. 25, 2021, $1.7 million was transferred from Peter Angelos’ Wells Fargo account to an actual property lawyer in Saratoga Springs, New York, “to enable John to buy a house there.” According to the submitting, on April 7, 2021, one other $2.5 million was wired to John Angelos.
The new submitting provides appreciable hearth to what already was a scorched-earth authorized battle inside certainly one of Maryland’s most distinguished households.
The struggle revealed that John Angelos resisted Georgia Angelos’ efforts to promote the Orioles, together with turning away a “credible” group of patrons in 2020. Sources have informed The Baltimore Sun that John Angelos needs the household to maintain a majority management of the crew.
The litigation additionally revealed that Georgia Angelos and John Angelos needed to wind down or promote the regulation agency, however have been opposed by Louis Angelos, who has been managing it since his father’s incapacitation.
Judge Keith Truffer has scheduled a trial to start July 10 on each Louis Angelos’ swimsuit and one filed in August by Georgia Angelos. She sued her youthful son, saying he bought his father’s regulation agency to himself, characterizing it monetary elder abuse. Louis Angelos claimed the transfer was crucial due to a regulation requiring the agency to be transferred to a different legal professional after Peter Angelos was disabled.
The new submitting counters that it’s Peter Angelos’ spouse and older son who’ve financially exploited him.
“The defendants abused their positions of trust and confidence … knowing that Peter, by virtue of his disability, is not aware of these acts and unable to register any protest or take any corrective action to protect his rights.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com