Kilmartin Tries to Block Release of Records in St. Joseph Pension Fund Collapse
Monday, November 20, 2017
According to court documents secured by GoLocal, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is trying to limit the scope of a subpoena regarding the St. Joseph pension fund collapse.
The subpoena was issued by special investigator Max Wistow, requesting all documents tied to Kilmartin's office approval of the merger of CharterCare and Prospect of California. Just three years later the pension fund of St. Joseph employees was bust.
The law is very specific to the responsibilities of Kilmartin and his office, stating, “The department of attorney general [is] to preserve and protect public and charitable assets in reviewing both hospital conversions which involve for-profit corporations and hospital conversions which include only not-for-profit corporations.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNow, 2,800 retirees face millions in cuts to their pension — the fund is underfunded by tens of millions of dollars.
In a motion filed in Superior Court last Thursday, Kilmartin claimed the subpoena requested too many documents and that many of the documents requested were “privileged.”
Specifically, in the Attorney General’s motion, he claims that “documents such as attorney notes, communication between staff and drafts,” are privileged. Included, he claims are communications with experts used in the review are also privileged other than final reports.
Wistow Fires Back at Kilmartin
Wistow fired back in a motion to the court on Friday.
Both Wistow and Kilmartin made headlines in the 38 Studios case. Wistow was successful in recovering $61 million for the State of Rhode Island from some of America's largest financial institutions. He received accolades for his success.
In contrast, Kilmartin failed to bring criminal charges against anyone after three years of investigation. Kilmartin has been blistered by everyone from Governor Gina Raimondo to legislators in both parties for his failures in the 38 Studios investigation.
In the St. Joseph pension fund collapse, an array of state leaders have called for Kilmartin to step aside due to his role in the approval of the Hospital Conversion Act (HCA).
“Undoubtedly the Attorney General knew the subpoena was coming for months, based on his own statement to the press beginning in August, defining his handling of the pension liabilities and his statement that was carefully ‘monitoring’ this receivership,” wrote Wistow.
Just one week after the pension fund was thrust into receivership, Kilmartin said in a statement to GoLocal, "[We] will be closely monitoring the legal process, and assessing where we have legal standing to intervene…These retirees deserve to know how this happened and what is being done to protect their investment. I urge the receiver of the pension fund and the Court to establish and maintain complete transparency throughout this process, and to consider every available option to regain financial viability of the pension fund.”
Wistow also wrote in response to Kilmartin’s claims, “It is totally improper for the Attorney General to evade his responsibility to produce the documents by attempting to place the burden on the Receiver to obtain a waiver of confidentiality.”
Kilmartin “Commended” Staff's Work in 2014
At the time of the agreement in 2014, Kilmartin said, “The transacting parties have worked diligently to provide regulators with the necessary documentation and information throughout this review process to make this decision, a decision I believe is in the best interest of Rhode Island’s healthcare marketplace, the community, the employees, and most importantly, the patients.”
Kilmartin said in his statement, “Conducting a hospital conversion review requires the commitment of a substantial amount of resources for the Office of Attorney General. I commend my staff for the time and careful consideration put into this review process.”
A GoLocal review has found that Kilmartin, who is statutorily responsible for a key element of the Hospital Conversion Act, failed to protect the pension assets in the transaction.
The law is very specific to the responsibilities of Kilmartin and his office, stating, “The department of attorney general [is] to preserve and protect public and charitable assets in reviewing both hospital conversions which involve for-profit corporations and hospital conversions which include only not-for-profit corporations.”
Key Staffer Quits AG’s Office Just Weeks After Pension Fund Collapses
A key member of Kilmartin's staff -- closely involved in the St. Joseph dealings -- recently departed the office.
As GoLocal reported in September:
“For nearly 23 years, Genevieve Martin served in the Attorney General’s office and most recently as an Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Insurance Advocacy Unit, but just two weeks after St. Joseph Health Services pension fund went into bankruptcy, Martin is out at the Attorney General’s office and she is not talking about her departure.
She signed off on the transfer of assets of St. Joseph and Roger Williams Medical Center in the sale to CharterCare in 2014.
The sale left the employees' retirement fund an "orphan" and within just three years of the sale, the fund was bankrupt.
Related Slideshow: 10 Things to Know About One of Biggest Pension Failures in RI - St. Joseph Receivership
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