38 Studios Documents Unveil Carcieri, Fox and Other Leaders Lied About Deal

38 Studios Documents Unveil Carcieri, Fox and Other Leaders Lied About Deal

38 Studios documents released as part of Judge Michael Silverstein’s order unveil that previous timelines and approval of the 38 Studios deal as outlined by Governor Donald Carcieri, Speaker Gordon Fox and others at the highest level of Rhode Island state government were complete fabrications meant to mask the deal making that took place. 

It is clear from key documents that Rhode Island leaders repeatedly lied about key aspects and timelines of the project.

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On Thursday, depositions and exhibits associated with over sixty individuals, including two former Governors, the sitting Governor, two former House Speakers and many of the top business executives in Rhode Island were made available for the first time, totaling nearly ten thousand pages.

Key Findings

The documents, specifically Stoltzman Deposition Exhibit #38, outline that the entire strategy and deal were done before the loan program was approved.

The 19-page package including memos and emails between Economic Development officials and Governor Carcieri unveils that the entire deal had been negotiated, and draft legislation was drafted in March 31, 2010.  

The 38 Studios deal was not in concept, but laid out in complete detail, nearly full two months before the legislation was passed in the House.

The actual loan guarantee fund was not approved by the House until May 25, 2010.

Make no mistake about it, from the inception of the $125 Loan Guarantee program in 2010 through to the release of these documents, the elected and appointed leaders of Rhode Island intentionally and repeatedly mislead Rhode Island. 

Carcieri repeatedly defended his and his administration’s review of the 38 Studios deal after the approval by the General Assembly of the loan guarantee program. In September of 2012 in an appearance by Carcieri on Newsmakers, he repeatedly defended the investment and argued that the state after the passage of the loan program. “I was only one of 12 votes on the EDC Board,” said Carcieri in the interview.

On October 19, 2012, Fox’s campaign spokesperson Bill Fischer provided GoLocalProv the following statement during the midst of a tough re-election campaign:

"As he has previously stated, Speaker Fox was aware that 38 Studios was interested in relocating to Rhode Island. In fact, it was reported in the Providence Journal on March 24, 2010, well before the loan-guarantee program was debated. Speaker Fox has always made it clear that this legislation was never specific to 38 Studios or any particular company – any company seeking funding would have to be vetted by the EDC.”

He also asserted, "When Speaker Fox was addressing this issue at a neighborhood debate on Wednesday evening, he indicated there was public knowledge of Curt Schilling's interest in coming to Rhode Island because it had been publicized. He did not mean to infer in any way that representatives were aware that the legislation included funding for 38 Studios, because it did not. Representatives did not have information because there was no earmark in the legislation for 38 Studios or for any other company.”

Multiple documents released show that the initial discussions about the 38 Studios deal are linked to emails between Fox's confidant Michael Corso and 38 Studios' Vice Chairman and financier Tom Zaccagnino were putting the deal together nearly a year before the House of Representatives voted on the load guarantee program.