Raimondo Calls for Further Delay of Release of 38 Studios Documents, Blocks GoLocal’s Request

The Raimondo administration has denied GoLocalProv.com's appeal for the release of the RI State Police interviews and notes from the now-concluded criminal investigation of 38 Studios. 

GoLocal has not sought any documents relating to the Grand Jury.

The denial was issued by Kevin M. Barry, Acting Commissioner of Department of Public Safety, who was appointed by Raimondo in September - which was sent to the media company this week.  Barry reports directly to the Governor.

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On Thursday night at the Common Cause dinner, Raimondo told the audience that she would not pursue the release of the 38 studios documents until after the civil actions have concluded.

Repeatedly, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has stated that the criminal and civil cases are unrelated.  At the press conference announcing the conclusion of the investigation, Kilmartin stated multiple times that there is no relationship between the civil and the criminal investigations.

“I was totally clear in my statement. The civil trial and the criminal trial are wholly independent of each other. One has no nexus to another and one does not impact the other,” said Kilmartin during the press conference.

Raimondo delay could take more than a year

According to legal experts, the remaining civil case against First Southwest, which is now not scheduled to begin until January, 2017 could last six months. At the conclusion of the trial, it is standard for the judge to take an additional 120 to 150 days for a case with such complexities would push a Superior Court decision to late 2017.

The losing side would be likely to appeal to the Rhode Island Supreme Court pushing the conclusion of civil matters until after Raimondo’s re-election. 

"This is yet another disappointing response,” said Thomas Dickinson of the decision by Barry to deny GoLocal’s appeal. Dickinson is the former Assistant Attorney General that has been representing GoLocal is the legal pursuit of releasing the 38 Studios documents.

"As we've said all along, the 38 Studios investigations involved significant failures in two branches of our government, exposing Rhode Island taxpayers to huge financial risk.

Raimondo has continued to Use First Southwest

As GoLocal first reported in July 2015, the Raimondo administration continued to use First Southwest despite the civil lawsuit by the state related to 38 Studios which is seeking more than $20 million according to sources close to the litigation.

As GoLocal reported:

The architect of Governor Gina Raimondo’s truck toll infrastructure plan is the same firm that the State of Rhode Island is presently in litigation against for its role in the state’s loss of over $100 million in the 38 Studios collapse.

First Southwest is a key defendant in the state of RI’s effort to recover the millions in loss loan funds and damages.  As the state's financial advisor, First Southwest is currently working with the Governor’s office and the Department of Administration on the controversial plan to put tolls for trucks in Rhode Island to fund a revenue bond of $600 million to rebuild Rhode Island’s decaying highway and bridges.  As GoLocalProv reported this week, Rhode Island has the third worst roads in America.

"It is bewildering that Governor Raimondo continues to use the services of First Southwest while a lawsuit by the State of Rhode Island is pending against them.  The state's lawsuit against First Southwest alleges that the firm 'intentionally defrauded the EDC Board and the EDC' and that they gave the state advice on the doomed 38 Studios project that was 'fatal to the entire transaction," said Monique Chartier with the advocacy group RI Taxpayers. "Why would Governor Raimondo continue a professional relationship with a firm that the state itself contends rendered advice that was so bad and fraudulent, it will end up costing taxpayers $89 million?  Or does the Governor believe that First Southwest gave Rhode Island good advice on 38 Studios, that the state has no case and that it should drop its lawsuit?  If she does not, how can she have it both ways?"

429 Too Many Requests

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