'It's open season': McKee brings in lawyer who led 38 Studios suit to Washington Bridge case

PROVIDENCE - Gov. Dan McKee hopes the lawyer who sued those involved in the 38 Studios deal and Station nightclub fire will do something similar to whoever is to blame for problems on the westbound Washington Bridge.

The state has hired Max Wistow to lead the Washington Bridge outside litigation effort, McKee announced Friday, and he'll be joined by Jonathan Savage, whose firm has numerous public-sector clients.

"The combined expertise on this legal team will put the state in a strong position to build the best possible case or Rhode Island taxpayers and deliver the accountability they deserve," McKee told reporters in a Friday morning news conference.

Wistow's past legal victories in Station fire case, 38 Studios

Wistow's lawsuits won settlements worth $176 million for the victims of the Station nightclub fire, $61 million for the state on 38 Studios and $50 million for retirees affected by the insolvency of the St. Joseph's pension fund. He's now representing the Providence City Council in a lawsuit trying to undo tax breaks granted to developer Arnold "Buff" Chace.

Wistow on Friday said he had been promised "no restrictions" on who he could target if the evidence points toward a promising case.

"It's open season and I've been assured by the governor that we will be totally supported in that regard," he said. "So the chips are going to fall where they may."

Wistow, Sheehan & Loveley PC, and Savage Law Partners LLP will get 16.67% of any settlement proceeds. That's the same percentage Wistow's firm got on 38 Studios.

Savage is chairman of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation Board of Directors. Savage Law Partners' clients include the Rhode Island Department of Housing, General Treasurer James Diossa and the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation. The firm represented Pawtucket as city development council in the Tidewater soccer stadium transaction developed and approved by the Commerce Corporation.

What is the legal team looking for?

A team of engineering consultants has been studying what mistakes were made to cause its condition to deteriorate to the point it could collapse. But McKee delayed releasing the "forensic analysis" so its findings can be coordinated with the legal team.

But the focus on winning money from a lawsuit has raised questions about whether the "accountability" McKee is talking about will only be focused outside state government at the deep-pocketed private contractors and consultants hired by the state instead of the Department of Transportation officials they were working for.

That's partly what happened in the 38 Studios case, where the public examination of how Rhode Island borrowed $75 million for a long-shot video game startup focused on private consultants instead of the public officials involved in the idea.

"Our agreement with our legal team is to recover and to compensate on cash recovery, that's true, but we've also said that we are not leaving any stone unturned relative to accountability," McKee said. "And I would think that they'll [play a part] in that and we'll play a role in that as well. But let's wait on some of the reports."

McKee chose not to avail himself of the legal services of Attorney General Peter Neronha, who offered to represent the state in a March 15 text after McKee announced the bridge would need to be torn down.

"We've certainly relayed that text to our legal team in our office and now we've also relayed that text to this team as well," McKee said about Neronha's offer. "And I would expect that they would be reaching out to the attorney general if they feel as though that he can be helpful in the case."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lawyer who led 38 Studios, Station fire suits joins McKee in Washington Bridge case