Governor Jay Nixon says his administration wisely handled the vetting of a Los Angeles-based company that began building an artificial sweetener plant in Moberly, then pulled out after missing its bond payment to the small northeast Missouri town.
By Marshall Griffin (Jefferson City, Mo.)
Moberly officials told a State House committee this week that the governor’s Department of Economic Development withheld emails from a DED consultant revealing that he could not verify whether Mamtek had a functioning plant in China. Nixon did not address that accusation when talking with reporters Friday, but he did say no taxpayer dollars went to Mamtek.
“I think it’s very, very important for me and my Dept. of Economic Development to use taxpayer dollars wisely, which in this situation, by paying no benefits until jobs are created, I’m confident we did,” said Nixon.
DED officials maintain that they shared their concerns with Moberly officials, even though they did not send them the email in question. The chair of the House committee looking into Mamtek plans to conduct more hearings in January.