38 Studios Civil Case Concludes, But Raimondo Continues to Block Release of Key Documents
Thursday, February 02, 2017
The State of Rhode Island's effort to recover tens of millions in damages from law firms, individuals and financial institution tied to 38 Studios is nearing conclusion, in the effort initiated by then-Governor Lincoln Chafee.
Now, however, the battle over documents tied to the failed criminal investigation is now heating up. The lawsuit filed by GoLocalProv.com against Governor Gina Raimondo is scheduled for hearing at the end of February.
With Hilltop Securities Inc. (formerly First Southwest Company) agreeing to pay $16 million to the state, Rhode Island has now recovered $49.66 million (net of legal fees) in settlements in the 38 Studios litigation. The court needs to sign-off on the final settlement.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDespite the pending conclusion of the civil case, Raimondo’s office confirmed that the administration continues to block release the RI State Police interviews with a reported 100 individuals tied to the criminal case. GoLocal first requested the State Police documents in the summer of 2016.
“What GoLocalProv asked for are things within the control of the Governor and the State Police: copies of witness interviews, documents collected in the investigation, and items of that nature that the Governor can direct the State Police to share with the public without needing court approval,” said Tom Dickinson, former RI Assistant Attorney General and GoLocal’s attorney.
“As we've said all along, 38 Studios represents failures in two branches of Rhode Island government - the Executive and Legislative.”
Lawsuit Filed Against Raimondo
In October, GoLocalProv.com's attorney Dickinson filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Raimondo and State Police Colonel Kevin Barry for the release of the State Police interviews and notes relating to the 38 Studios investigation.
Barry is being sued in his role as acting Superintendent of the State Police and as acting Director of Public Safety.
That case is set for hearing in the Superior Court in late February.
READ THE LAWSUIT BELOW
In the complaint filed by GoLocal asserted, “There is high public interest to access the items included within the GoLocalProv APRA request. As the Attorney General stated, 38 Studios involved 'bad politics, bad public policy, and bad business decisions."
"Access to the records sought in the GoLocalProv APRA request is vital in order to examine and expose to public view the causes of these admittedly bad decisions. On October 14, 2016, Governor Raimondo issued a statement indicating a desire for the release of documents and materials from the 38 Studios investigation," stated GoLocal.
“I will immediately petition the Court for the release of all materials associated with the grand jury investigation of 38 Studios. Rhode Islanders deserve to have access to all of the information that is known. Complete transparency is the best way to ensure that such a disastrous deal never happens again,”said Raimondo on Wednesday in a press release.
“Governor Raimondo can unilaterally instruct Public Safety to coordinate with Colonel (Ann) Assumpico and release the State Police interviews,” said Josh Fenton, CEO and Co-Founder of GoLocalProv.
On Wednesday, Chair Patricia Serpa of the House Oversight Committee and the entire House GOP Caucus reasserted their calls for the State Police documents to be released.
Minority Whip Blake Filippi said, “To make sure a devastating economic disaster like 38 Studios never happens again, legislators and the public need access to all documents related to the investigation, in order to understand exactly what happened, who knew what and when.”
Related Slideshow: GoLocalProv’s Lawsuit Against Governor Raimondo - October 17, 2016
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