PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A former state director agreed Tuesday to pay $5,000 to settle an ethics complaint tied to a scandalous business trip he took to Philadelphia last year.

The R.I. Ethics Commission found David Patten, who previously served as the state's property director, violated the Rhode Island ethics code while visiting a Philadelphia facility redeveloped by a former state contractor, Scout Ltd.

Scout executives were so upset by Patten's behavior during the March 10 business trip that they documented the conduct in an email shared with state leaders, alleging "bizarre, offensive behavior" that was "blatantly sexist, racist and unprofessional."

On Tuesday, the state ethics panel met behind closed doors for roughly an hour before Patten emerged and his attorney revealed he'd settled the complaint and agreed to the fine. One member of the commission made an unsuccessful motion to double Patten's fine to $10,000.

After Patten's issue was resolved, the commission continued to meet behind closed doors to discuss the behavior of Jim Thorsen, who previously served as the state's director of administration and traveled with Patten to Philadelphia.

Thorsen is also the subject of an ethics complaint, but he chose against settling with the panel. The commissioners announced afterward they had voted unanimously to find probable cause that Thorsen violated three parts of the state's ethics code. The commission will hold an administrative trial regarding Thorsen at a future date.

Thorsen continued to defend himself as he left the meeting. "If I thought I did wrong, I wouldn't be here right now," he told reporters. "It would have been settled a long time ago."

Gov. Dan McKee's office fought for months last year to keep the Scout email secret, but eventually lost the battle when R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha ruled in favor of Target 12 and The Providence Journal in an open-records complaint seeking the message.

According to the email, Patten and Thorsen spent the day visiting multiple organizations inside a facility named Bok, which is a large-scale co-working space where entire companies, nonprofits and other organizations do business. Scout had hoped to use it as a model for redeveloping the long-vacant Cranston Street Armory in Providence.

The executives alleged the bad behavior began early that morning when Patten sent a text message to a female executive requesting snacks and refreshments.

"Please have fresh coffee (with milk and sugar) and the best croissant in Philadelphia ready for me upon arrival," Patten wrote in the text message.

"Director Thorsen likes Diet Coke," Patten continued. "Have a cold six pack waiting on the table in your conference room ... you have three hours to convince us to give you $55M."

The text message kicked off a bizarre daylong trip where Scout officials said Patten repeatedly asked for free products from vendors, acted offensively toward a Jewish health care worker and an Asian American employee, and demanded that a restaurant open early to serve them a free lunch.

Scout officials said Thorsen, meanwhile, didn't intervene despite Patten's inappropriate behavior, and that when asked whether the free material needed to be declared, Thorsen responded, "It's de minimis." (“De minimis” is State House shorthand for a gift of low-enough value that it doesn’t trigger ethics rules.)

Thorsen scheduled a meeting with human resources immediately after returning from the trip and later paid the bill for the lunch. He stepped down shortly thereafter to take job with the federal government that he had already lined up before the trip.

An attorney for Patten, meanwhile, attributed his behavior to a mental health issue. He eventually stepped down under mounting pressure. The story made national headlines and the Rhode Islanders' behavior was ridiculed by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The ethics panel subsequently launched a probe that took several months, culminating in the settlement agreement Tuesday. A date for Thorsen's next hearing wasn't scheduled immediately.

The Patten fine marks one of the larger ethics penalties in recent history in Rhode Island. Former state Rep. Carlos Tobon -- who was found to have violated the state ethics law 15 different times in 2022 -- was fined $3,600.

"This was the most expensive lunch of David Patten's life for sure," said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, after the meeting.

Ted Nesi contributed to this report.