The chief executive of Louisiana Film Studios LLC has some news that should lower Jeremy Shockey’s blood pressure. (Or at least quiet his Twitter account.)
In a statement issued Friday, Wayne Read says he intends to repay the Saints players, coach, and other investors that thought they were buying tax credits, but appeared to have lost their investment.
Read says he will pay them back with either cash or tax credits acquired from a broker.
“The Saints players made their investments in November 2008. I was hoping to repay their investments in five months,” Read wrote in a statement released through a PR firm.
“Unfortunately, the current economy is the worst seen in the U.S. in many decades and has slowed my ability to repay the investors as quickly as I would like.”
The attorney for long snapper Kevin Houser, who introduced the Saints investment opportunity, says Read has long promised to repay the investors, with nothing to show for it.
Read blames “some confusion” in late 2008 over what studio expenses qualified for the credits. He never applied for them, but says he will now.
Whether Shockey, coach Sean Payton, Charles Grant, Drew Brees, or Archie Manning actually get their coin back remains to be seen.
We can safely assume that Read’s statement won’t be enough to get Houser his job back.