Schilling’s mystery investor: Nortek ex-CEO Richard Bready?
July 25th, 2012 at 3:38 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Richard Bready
Boston magazine’s Jason Schwartz thinks so:
When I interviewed Schilling for my story on 38 Studios, he declined to speak on the record about who the investor was. But when I followed up via text shortly after, he replied that his name was, “Rick Brady.” Schilling added, “That was the investor who was willing and able to write the check as long as the gov permitted tax credits.”
Now, so far as I can tell, there aren’t any ridiculously wealthy Rick Brady’s hanging around Providence. But there is a very wealthy Rick Bready (pronounced “Brady”) and it would be a pretty safe bet that he’s the person Schilling was referring to.
Bready retired last year after 36 years at Nortek, having led the company through a bankruptcy restructuring; a 2003 leveraged buyout left the company with a heavy debt load. It’s certainly plausible he had the cash: Bready’s seaside estate in Newport alone is assessed at $18.6 million, according to city records, and his annual salary was $3.5 million a year from 2008 to 2010. He’s also on Roger Williams University’s board.
Also, Schwartz will join us on Newsmakers this weekend to discuss his big 38 Studios article.
Tags: 38 studios, boston magazine, curt schilling, nortek, richard bready
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
Considering the fact that 38 Studios did not qualify for Motion Picture Tax Credits — this is beyond bizarre. Although 38 Studios management indicated in the bond offering documents that they would reincorporate in Rhode Island, they never did that. That lack of action should have been a big red flag for EDC because EDC testified before the General Assembly that the tax credits should be liberalized before 38 Studios showed up. Then everybody ignored this rule except for the administrators of the tax credits. To their credit they pointed out the requirement.
It is clear now that the tax credits would never have saved 38 Studios. Governor Chafee did the right thing by coming out against them. But actually he had no choice. 38 Studios did not qualify because management there totally ignored the requirement.