PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Route 195 Redevelopment District Commission voted Monday night to proceed with its role in a $42-million bond sale to buy former highway land without considering undisclosed concerns raised by the state's Economic Development Corporation.
Then, the commission voted in a closed session to sever its relationship with the law firm that has represented the panel since June -- Adler Pollock & Sheehan. One of the firm's shareholders, Robert I. Stolzman, has worked on the bond resolution for the commission and spent nearly the first hour of the meeting reviewing aspects of the bond sale.
Stolzman and his firm are among 14 defendants in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday by the EDC that alleges legal malpractice, fraud and negligence for their involvement with the $75-million loan guarantee to Curt Schilling's video-game company, 38 Studios.