Groups calling for 38 Studios investigation, PawSox transparency

(Updated 4:29 p.m.)
WARWICK – Several groups met Thursday to call on Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello to investigate the 38 Studios deal. They also want greater transparency on the Pawtucket Red Sox relocation proposal.

WatchdogRI.org, led by former candidate for governor Kenneth J. Block, the R.I. Taxpayers Association, and the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity held a press conference at 2 p.m. at Simpatico Software Systems to discuss the issues.
According to a media advisory, the press conference was called in response to a report by WPRI-TV CBS 12 that said ex-House Speaker Gordon D. Fox ordered the head of the state’s economic-development agency to put together the failed deal that lured former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s video game company, 38 Studios LLC, to Rhode Island. The company defaulted on approximately $89 million in bonds when it filed for bankruptcy in 2012, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook.
Fox is currently serving a federal prison sentence on an unrelated matter. The report showed that Fox’s involvement was earlier than had ever been publicly disclosed before. The groups also want Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein to unseal all documents relating to 38 Studios.
Meanwhile, Mattiello, in a statement, said the newest allegation about Fox’s involvement in 38 Studios “does not change the fact that the General Assembly is not an investigative body.”
“If the State Police, the Attorney General’s office or the FBI feel that an investigation is warranted after learning of this new information, then I would encourage them as the appropriate agencies to do so,” Mattiello said.
Marie Aberger, a spokeswoman for Raimondo, said that the governor was against the 38 Studios deal from the beginning and remains “fully committed to uncovering any wrongdoing with 38 Studios.”
“The first step, however, is to complete the ongoing litigation – this is an important and essential step in establishing facts, proving culpability and recovering taxpayer dollars. We do not want to interfere or jeopardize this litigation in any way. The governor supports the Commerce Corporation’s request to the court to lift the confidentiality order, providing full transparency and public disclosure,” Aberger said.

Block said that the newest court document revelations “are deeply disturbing on a multitude of levels.”
“It now seems more clear than ever that the current legislature, specifically the current speaker, as well as Governor Raimondo, owe the state’s taxpayers a government subpoena power investigation into exactly when, how and under what arrangement 38 Studios was lured to Rhode Island; the full role of disgraced former Speaker Fox; and who else knew what – and when. This insider deal resulted in a huge loan liability now owed by taxpayers, a costly state lawsuit and a disgraced economic development agency. We deserve the full story,” he said.

The groups, in the advisory, said that they are alarmed “at the growing trend of state government to secretly negotiate and implement special-interest policies without open public and legislative oversight.” They said they want to make sure that there is greater public transparency on the proposal to relocate the Pawtucket Red Sox to the Providence riverfront, to avoid it from becoming a “38-Stadium boondoggle.”

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WatchdogRI.org is a nonprofit organization focused on data intensive public policy research projects.

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