Mitt Romney has been distorting or hiding the facts about his record and finances to avoid telling Americans the truth about his role in bankrupting companies and helping ship jobs overseas.

The Boston Globe examined the facts and found that Romney was in charge of his buyout firm three years longer than he’s admitted:

Romney has said he left Bain in 1999 to lead the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, ending his role in the company. But public Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed later by Bain Capital state he remained the firm’s “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president.”

Also, a Massachusetts financial disclosure form Romney filed in 2003 states that he still owned 100 percent of Bain Capital in 2002. And Romney’s state financial disclosure forms indicate he earned at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002, separate from investment earnings.

The timing of Romney’s departure from Bain is a key point of contention because he has said his resignation in February 1999 meant he was not responsible for Bain Capital companies that went bankrupt or laid off workers after that date.

Contradictions concerning the length of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital add to the uncertainty and questions about his finances. Bain is the primary source of Romney’s wealth, which is estimated to be more than $25 million. But how his wealth has been invested, especially in a variety of Bain partnerships and other investment vehicles, remains difficult to decipher because of a lack of transparency.

Romney has failed at transparency. Not only do the facts put him at the center of responsibility for investments involving outsourcing and bankruptcies, they raise serious questions about why he is misrepresenting when he left and whether he is concealing his tax returns to hide something else about this time period. Americans deserve a presidential candidate who is open about their record.