Peter Angelos’ spouse Georgia on Wednesday grew to become the most recent and arguably most important voice to weigh in on the facet of her son, John Angelos, as the pinnacle of the Orioles, pushing again in opposition to a lawsuit filed final week by her different son.
With household patriarch and O’s proprietor Peter Angelos ailing and now not managing his holdings, Louis Angelos, 52, sued his older brother and mom final week over what he stated have been John Angelos’ efforts to grab management of the crew and different property.
But in a press release the Orioles launched Wednesday, Georgia Kousouris Angelos asserted her position because the voice of her husband and solid help to older son John, 54.
“I, alone, have the authority to manage the family’s assets and make decisions,” Georgia Angelos stated.
“Since I appointed John Angelos as chairman and CEO of the Orioles in 2020, he has led the organization thoughtfully and effectively, including through unprecedentedly challenging times,” the 80-year-old household matriarch stated. “John has my full faith, as well as the trust and confidence of Major League Baseball.”
Peter Angelos, now 92, had designated his spouse to behave on his behalf, in accordance with an influence of lawyer switch that was among the many paperwork Louis Angelos included when he filed his lawsuit. The doc, signed in October 2017 as Peter Angelos’ well being started deteriorating, stated that ought to his spouse now not be able to managing her affairs, the facility of lawyer would go to the couple’s two sons, performing “jointly or separately.”
In the lawsuit filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court final Thursday, Louis Angelos stated his mom wished to promote the Orioles, including credence to a rumor that has lengthy swirled across the crew, significantly within the wake of Peter Angelos’ exit from its helm.
The lawsuit stated John Angelos “has done everything in his power to stall and, ultimately, thwart plans to sell the club,” single-handedly torpedoing “one highly credible group of buyers.”
The swimsuit strengthened one other rumor with an inference that John Angelos’ consolidation of management over the crew may enable him to maneuver the crew to Tennessee, the place he lives in Nashville together with his nation music singer-songwriter spouse.
But on Monday, John Angelos denied the Orioles have been going wherever. In a press release additionally launched by the crew, John Angelos repeated a previous assertion that the O’s will stay in Baltimore “as long as Fort McHenry is standing watch over the Inner Harbor.” The assertion was silent with regards to promoting the crew, because it was on the truth that his brother had sued him.
But Georgia Angelos’ assertion started by denouncing “the false and painful claims which were alleged within the lawsuit that my son, Louis, has introduced in opposition to me and my older son, John.
“I want to set the record straight,” she stated.
Additionally, the Maryland Stadium Authority, the crew’s landlord at Camden Yards, instructed The Baltimore Sun that it acknowledged John Angelos because the crew’s CEO. Citing their “excellent working relationship,” the authority stated it was persevering with negotiations with John Angelos on a brand new lease to maintain the Orioles on the town.
The crew is in its ultimate yr of a lease that features a clause that expressly bars “the relocation of the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball Team from Baltimore, Maryland,” candy phrases in a metropolis haunted by its loss on a snowy evening in 1984 of the beloved Colts soccer crew.
At situation now could be $600 million in bonds that the General Assembly approved and Gov. Larry Hogan signed into regulation for enhancements to Camden Yards, together with the identical quantity for Ravens Stadium. No bonds might be issued and not using a lease, and the lease should run lengthy sufficient to repay the bonds with the longest time period.
While there is no such thing as a assure a brand new lease would include the identical no-relocation clause as the present one, the stadium authority stated such clauses are widespread in related agreements. The lease phrases would apply to the brand new proprietor ought to the membership be bought, in accordance with the authority.
The household fireworks have generated a lot consideration, as Orioles Nation speculated on what it means for the crew, who for all its shedding methods lately manages to maintain its grip on native hearts.
Georgia Angelos famous her deep roots on the town, saying she was “born and raised in Northeast Baltimore, inside strolling distance of Memorial Stadium, and attending metropolis public faculties: PS 50, PS 49 and Eastern High School.
“I attended the first Orioles Opening Day in 1954,” she stated, happening to credit score her husband and his companions for restoring native possession once they purchased the crew 4 a long time later. That averted, she stated, “the fixed menace of relocation that had taken the Colts away from Baltimore.
“Any suggestion that Peter, John, or I would explore moving the club is false and intentionally divisive,” she stated.
Fans ought to really feel reassured by the assertion, stated Alan M. Rifkin, the previous exterior counsel to the Orioles.
“She is and always has been a pillar of honesty and sincerity,” he instructed The Sun. “The public and Orioles fans should take great comfort in her continuing commitment to the city.”
Georgia Angelos’ assertion rejects the allegations made by Louis Angelos in his swimsuit. He describes his brother as plotting to eliminate legal professionals and crew officers who have been loyal to his father and changing them with “yes men” who would enable him to exert whole management. To try this, the swimsuit alleged, he intimidated and confused his mom and bought her to comply with amendments to the belief that Peter Angelos created for his holdings.
Louis Angelos’ lawyer, Jeffrey E. Nusinov, beforehand decried John Angelos’ assertion, through which John Angelos stated he “was appointed Chairman and CEO according to my parents’ expressed wishes.” Nusinov didn’t reply Wednesday to a request for remark.
The swimsuit additionally claimed John Angelos co-opted a lawyer, Chris Jones, into working solely for his quite than the household’s pursuits. John Angelos’ spouse, Margaret Valentine, took Jones’ daughter, an aspiring country-singer, below her wing, which resulted in her getting her gigs to carry out in Camden Yards.
But Georgia Angelos defended Jones’ “professionalism and integrity,” saying he was a buddy and invaluable within the household property and Orioles’ planning.
“Chris and his family as well as my son, John, and his family are owed an apology,” she stated.
She additionally expressed remorse to the Orioles workers and, “most importantly, devoted Orioles’ fans,” over the general public airing of a battle inside her usually non-public household.
“I have always believed,” she stated, “that household disputes and considerations ought to stay amongst members of the family.
“I look forward to putting this matter behind us all.”
Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker contributed to this text.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com