Missouri’s Economic Development department is defending its role in the controversy surrounding a failed artificial sweetener plant in the small town of Moberly.
Town officials testified Tuesday before a State House committee that the agency did not provide them with emails from a DED representative revealing that he could not verify whether Los Angeles-based Mamtek had a functioning plant in China. DED General Counsel Chris Pieper disagreed in his testimony.
“We shared the concern…we didn’t share the email, but we shared the concern…we shared it on multiple occasions, by email, that we were doing additional research. ”
DED Director David Kerr testified that it would have been a waste of taxpayer money to double-check every claim made by every company seeking incentives. Meanwhile, the chair of the committee conducting the hearings said he may issue a subpoena to Mamtek’s patent attorney if he refuses to voluntarily testify.