Ex-Phillie Schilling's taxpayer-backed company bankrupt
Plans liquidation
Ex-Phillie Schilling's taxpayer-backed company bankrupt
Joseph N. DiStefano
Update: Bond Buyer article says Rhode Island hopes to salvage company; also references federal criminal inquiry here.
Earlier: 38 Studios, the video-game company founded by former pro ballplayer Curt Schilling with $75 million of Rhode Island public funds, has filed for bankruptcy liquidation under Chapter 7 of the US bankruptcy code in Wilmington, Del., listing more than 200 creditors.
The move comes after state officials last month refused to give Schilling more millions. The company laid off its entire staff of about 300 people shortly afterward.
Creditors include a lot of individuals and business services (cafeteria operator Aramark, Blue Cross of Rhode Island and other employee-benefit companies, restaurants and locksmiths, art dealers, an investigation firm and a limo service, multiple state and federal tax offices, Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment and other tech vendors, Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild LLP, and dozens of individuals in the greater Providence and Baltimore areas, where 38 Studios had offices. Law firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP is helping 38 president William C. Thomas manage the company in liquidation.
The Associated Press reports that Jim Martin, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Rhode Island, said his office had been in contact with the FBI and state police but didn't say what it's investigating.
See the bankruptcy filing and a list of creditors.
No problem...let Obama come in and use taxpayer cash to artifically prop up the company and declare it a success with 400 jobs pretended to be "saved". He did it with GM & Chrysler...so why not Shilling? One cannot defend the actions of Obama with GM & Chrysler and not support an equal artificial propping for Shilling. Same thing. Left wing loonies say what???— kelprod2- Schilling... has already sucked millions from the state of Rhode Island. His business is a failure and that has nothing to do with politics. Businesses fail for many reasons, but to use GM and Chrysler in this instance is wrong. By the way, how many jobs did that bailout save? How much has the paybacks of the loans given the people? Do some homework before you write pablum.
- Where do you think the money came from to "bailout" the auto companies? It came from the private sector. The government can not produce wealth it can only take it from one section of the private sector and give it to another. it is called redistribution of wealth. So if you take $1 billion dollars from the private sector and bailout GM you are "saving" those jobs over jobs that would have been created elsewhere.
— MoRacker - How different is the US Treasury lending GM funding to get back on track and providing funding to commercial banks every day?
Seems to be a little hole in your theory given that most mornings the Treasury sends billions to commercial banks through out the nation.
— Dexter - Also, Obama screwed the creditors of GM. All he did was change bankruptcy rules that are the law and not pay who should have been paid first. He rewarded his union buddies by stealing from the legitimate creditors. Obama is a child pretending to be president. GM should have gone through legitimate bankruptcy and emerged as a more efficient company. This will only prolong the inevitable bankruptcy in the future. — MoRacker
- He played on his celebrity status as a sports hero and political big wig to fleece $75 Million from the tax paying citizens of Rhode Island.
He was nothing more than a dumb jock and that's been confirmed now. He sure seemed very opinionated in those interviews before going belly up on political telecast.— Dexter - Here's your typical conservative in Schilling that abhors handouts yet he turns around and keeps asking for them...and millions of dollars of taxpayer money at that. So it's ok for conservative to do it but nobody else can do it. Schilling is a big fat flaming hypocrite just like most other neocons.— theromneycult
- Heyo Kel, I don't think it takes a looney, from any wing, to point out GM and Chrysler employed piles more people & suppliers & would have been missed a lot more than 38 Studios (or Solyndra) if the two parties hadn't ganged up to bail em out. Which isn't an argument for saving them... Though it would have been pretty expensive to let em fail.— Joe D
- Another great formula for success; take a sports hero, give them a pile of cash to fund their dream and then run up credit accounts with 200 suppliers and then go belly up. I feel sorry for all the suppliers who thought they were on board with a business genius.
Shame, shame, shame on Shilling.— cgm 
Comment removed.- If he really did invest $50 million of his own money as well as $75 million from the state into a video game business, then you know what they say about a fool and his (our) money.— JoeC.
- Wasn't big mouth blowhard Schilling a teammate of Dykstra's? Looks like they may be reunited again. What a freakin' shame.— mike 1717
- Red flags shouldve went up regarding this financing as soon as venture capital firms turned him down.— Potstirrer
- Guess we'll start seeing Curt at area autograph shows real soon.— everydayguy
- potstirrer - probably more red flags were risen than a chinese pride parade - but schilling (New England celebrity for the Sox) sweet-talked the morally and politicaly bankrupt state of Rhode Isalnd— gogglespaisano
