Schilling Claims RI Agency Tried To 'Bully And Intimidate' 38 Studios
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said Friday his video gaming company "didn't stonewall anyone" in its interactions with the state of Rhode Island and accused the economic development agency that approved a $75 million loan guarantee for his firm of trying to "intimidate us."
In a post on his Facebook page, Schilling accused the state Economic Development Corp. of trying to "bully and intimidate" 38 Studios, which last month filed for bankruptcy.
"We were working 24/7 for over 6 weeks to resolve issues that never should have arisen, meeting with deaf and dumb silence, intentional by the way, at every turn," he wrote.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that, according to emails released under a public records request, EDC auditors tried unsuccessfully for days to access 38 Studios' financial records as the company neared collapse.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee has accused the firm of stonewalling. He told the AP this week the state had difficulty getting the information it was requesting.
William Thomas, who was the company's chief operating officer at the time, said in the emails that 38 Studios didn't have the technical staff needed to allow auditors access and that the firm was trying to find funding to cover the audit's cost.
38 Studios was lured from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010 with a $75 million loan guarantee approved by the EDC board. The company laid off all its employees in Rhode Island and an affiliate in Maryland in May and filed for bankruptcy June 7.
In his Facebook post, Schilling also said the EDC and the state saw 38 Studios' financial statements every month. He said state officials were also furnished with a copy of an independent audit "that returned 'NO WRONG DOING BY ANYONE AT 38.' "
He said the audit by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services requested by the EDC was the third one after two earlier ones showed "no irregularities."
EDC spokeswoman Judy Chong had no comment.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
