Costantino Denies 38 Studios Role

Documents released last week in the 38 Studios lawsuit revealed questionable behind-the-scenes maneuvering by key players, such as former House Speaker Gordon Fox and former Gov. Donald Carcieri. One of the few mentions comes in the deposition transcript for Costantino, the former House Finance chairman, who was asked whether he had any conversations with Kilmartin about 38 Studios “in the spring and early summer of 2010”.

Shumlin spokesman Scott Coriell said the governor and his staff were “generally aware” of Costantino’s involvement in the 38 Studios ordeal when he was hired.

Current House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has said he feels “betrayed”, joining other lawmakers in saying he was unaware that a $75 million increase to a job-creation program – authorized by a vote of the General Assembly in 2010 – had already been earmarked for the video game company.

What we can not allow, however, is for the failures surrounding 38 Studios to put the business of moving Rhode Island forward on hold. “I want to make it very clear that the legislation granted authority (to create the fund) only”, Costantino said. But he added, “People were not paying particularly close attention to Rhode Island politics”.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.

On Tuesday, in his first public comments since last week’s release of a huge trove of documents from the civil lawsuit over 38 Studios, Kilmartin said the revelations about top House Democrats’ efforts to help the company have not made him reconsider whether to recuse himself from the criminal probe. Fox is now in jail for unrelated corruption costs. You might be asking me a different question. Litigation remains ongoing, as does a Rhode Island State Police investigation. At the time, Shumlin said he had known Costantino since the days they both served in their respective legislatures and said he understood him to be “dynamic, hands-on leader”. “Steve’s done a great job and we’re lucky to have him”, Coriell said.

Miller said he’s read a few of the recent coverage of Costantino’s role in crafting the program that ultimately brought 38 Studios to Rhode Island. He said he wasn’t surprised that Rhode Island officials were working on a way to lure the company, which was being wooed by other states, too.