Former R.I. Agency Chief Withdraws from 38 Studios Suit

The former executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. has withdrawn from a lawsuit against the agency's former lawyer and bond counsel over the 38 Studios fiasco.

Keith Stokes resigned under pressure in 2012 after 38 Studios, the video-game company owned by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation.

The company's failure left Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook for $75 million in moral obligation bonds, based on the agency's loan guarantee in 2010. The agency since changed its name to Rhode Island Commerce Corp.

Stokes told the Providence Journal he dismissed the suit because "it was clear that it was going to be a distraction to the main lawsuit."

In early July, Stokes and his former deputy director, J. Michael Saul, claimed in the suit that Antonio Afonso Jr., of Moses Afonso Ryan Ltd., and Robert Stolzman of Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC were negligent by failing to inform them about the financial risks connected to the deal.

The lawyers, their firms, Stokes and Saul are among many defendants in the suit the EDC filed late in 2012 against parties involved in the transaction.

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