Report: R.I. to Investigate 38 Studios for Illegal Lobbying
Rhode Island Secretary of State Ralph Mollis will investigate whether 38 Studios, the video game company founded by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling that went bankrupt in 2012, violated state lobbying laws, reports Providence station WPRI12.
According to the report, 38 Studios did not register any lobbyists with the state while the company was active in Rhode Island, as required by Ocean State law. But a contract uncovered by WRPI showed that 38 Studios had agreed to pay $300,000 per year to an associate of the state’s former House Speaker, Gordon Fox, to work with government agencies and officials.
That document, the report says, swayed Mollis to launch an investigation. Speaking about the contract, Mollis told WRPI: “That doesn’t get any closer to lobbying than the word lobbyist. Yes, that person should have registered.’’
38 Studios received $75 million in taxpayer-guaranteed financing in 2010 but filed for bankruptcy less than two years later, shortly after releasing its first game—leaving the state on the hook for the loan and accrued interest.
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