Investigators rule on ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's failed company

SCITUATE, R.I. -- An investigation into former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's failed video game company, 38 Studios, has resulted in no criminal violations, authorities announced Friday.

Rhode Island State Police Col. Steven G. O'Donnell and Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said the years-long investigation found "no provable criminal violations" of state law. Nearly 150 people were interviewed, and thousands of documents were reviewed.

O'Donnell said a bad deal doesn't always equate to an indictment. The former ballplayer's company relocated to Rhode Island from Massachusetts in 2010 in exchange for a $75 million state loan guarantee. It later went bankrupt, leaving taxpayers on the hook. Schilling has said the company fully disclosed its financial condition to the state.

The state's economic development agency sued Schilling and others who aided the deal to try to recoup the money. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also sued, alleging that investors were defrauded.

The U.S. attorney's office and the FBI ended their investigation after determining there were no violations of federal criminal laws.

Kilmartin said, "Bad politics, bad public policy, bad business decisions, simply do not always rise to the level of criminal conduct." O'Donnell said if more evidence is brought forward, they will look at it.

The investigation is separate from the civil litigation, and O'Donnell and Kilmartin took no position on the civil case.