38 Studios relocation loan in jeopardy
Democratic Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio has flip-flopped in his stance towards a $75 million loan from the state's Economic Development Corporation to fledgling game maker 38 Studios. The development house, founded in 2006 by former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, is hard at work on the top-secret Copernicus MMORPG and was offered the lucrative deal in exchange for moving the company's headquarters from Massachusetts to Rhode Island (and bringing a proposed 450 high-paying jobs to the state's economy).
Caprio, who currently serves as Rhode Island's general treasurer, is one of several political candidates condemning the deal, a marked change from his views in past weeks, notes the Boston Globe.
"I am not going to stand by and watch us gamble taxpayer dollars on a bad deal when there are thousands of small businesses in need of more access to capital," Caprio said in a press release dated August 31st.
