The FBI’s recent release of previously classified documents unearthed a surprising target of two separate investigations: former Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos.
Angelos, who died in March 2024, bought the Orioles franchise in Oct. 1993 and remained the team’s principal owner until January of last year.
Angelos was also a practicing attorney. His role in a pair of high-profile cases in Maryland was what caught the interest of federal investigators.
The first Angelos file, compiled in the 1980s, was tangentially related to his work on behalf of factory workers impacted by asbestos. Via WMAR’s Ryan Dickstein:
Ultimately, according to Dickstein, federal attorneys declined to prosecute the case.
The second investigation took place in the 1990s, after Angelos assumed ownership of the Orioles. He was prosecuting the tobacco industry on behalf of the state of Maryland when the case grew increasingly complicated. Via the Baltimore Banner’s Tim Prudente:
Nothing baseball-related to see there, at least not directly. The Orioles enjoyed an immediate resurgence under Angelos, running a top-2 payroll in MLB every year from 1995-98. The late owner was apparently no less aggressive with his legal tactics.
