Hale's rise and fall is remarkably textbook. Early on his idealism portended good things for Baltimore but his monetary gains soon deluded him and shifted motivations to more greed oriented aspirations. As he entrenched himself in the insider development scene I often encountered him out and about in places like Aldo's on weeknights as he entertained business associates (I too was involved in RE Development - recently retired, and knew him slightly early on when we both had business interests in the transportation industry). The enthusiasm of early idealism seemed to give way to the trappings of local celebrity for him and I find his current straits eerily reminiscent of some greek tragedy.

I never understood why he was allowed to live in the building to begin with. I know he owned the building, but it's zoned industrial. Was he granted an exemption or did he just ignore the zoning and move in ???

Ed Hale is a good man. Why is it when people have stressed problems...people want to personally hurt him and or other people. We need to remember how much he helped the city of Baltimore and related charities. Get off the band wagon and hope and pray he is able to recover from this horrible economy worldwide. Hopefully he will be able to restructure the bank and move forward in a positive environment.

As a Highlandtown resident, I just hope we get a shopping center from the Greenberg Gibbons group. They did a great job with Hunt Valley Town Center and could do the same with their portion of the former 'Canton Crossing'. I kind of feel sorry for Mr. Hale. Maybe the creation of a major shopping destination will be his legacy in all this.

Don't forget how many Baltimore jobs Ed Hale has helped create with his bank, real estate development and sports team. If you take delight in his difficulty, remember the hundreds, perhaps 1,000+ jobs held by real people who are your neighbors.

Don't count out Ed Hale. It's far too early.
He will out-work you or out-manuever you to get what he needs. Also, don't forget he has been a good citizen/businessman in the City of Baltimore for two decades or more.
The elites always underestimate the kids from Sparrows Point and Dundalk.

Ed, don't let anyone get you down! You have been great for the City!

I think that Ed Hale's judgment at times has to be questioned. Several years ago, I bought shares of First Mariner Bancorp because it seemed to be an attractive investment. At a time when there were a lot of mergers and very few locally owned banks, First Mariner stood out as a start-up company. But I quickly became frustrated with the company, particularly with the nomination of certain board members, which included the owner of a car dealership, a restaurant owner, former governors, the former fire chief, and a former mayor's wife. In my opinion, none of these individuals were qualified to sit on the bank's board of directors. Also, although disclosed, there were related party transactions between Mr. Hale and the bank. Finally, at a time when the problems with subprime mortgages were coming to light, FMAR continued to engage in such risky business practices. I made the decision to sell my shares before they plummeted.

I wish Mr. Hale and the employees of FMAR all of the luck in the world. But we shouldn't kid ourselves. Although very George Bailey-esque in his approach -- for which Mr. Hale should be lauded -- in looking back, it's apparent that he never had the qualifications to run a bank.