‘NO OFFENSE, HUN’

Rhode Island Officials’ ‘Offensive’ Work Trip Sparks Investigation

Two Rhode Island officials visited Philadelphia and were allegedly “blatantly racist and sexist” as well as rude, at one point demanding vegan cheese and calling someone’s dog fat.

A pair of high-level Rhode Island officials who traipsed down to Philadelphia on state business are now under two separate investigations over their “bizarre, offensive and unprofessional” behavior, which included instances of “egregious” racism, sexism, and demands for everything from Diet Coke to vegan cheese, according to an email detailing the misconduct. The email was sent by staff members at Scout Ltd., the urban development company that hosted the officials in early March in the hopes of securing funding from Rhode Island for a new project. The “off-color” behavior began before David Patten and James Thorsen even arrived, however, with Patten texting a company executive two days prior, “Have a cold six pack [of Diet Coke] waiting on the table in your conference room. You have three hours to convince us to give you $55M.” Once in Philadelphia, Patten commented to a female executive that he “would have come last night” if he’d known her husband wasn’t going to be around, and remarked later that he “really [hated] China,” before turning to an Asian American staffer and saying, “No offense, hun.” Both the Rhode Island state police and the governor’s office have launched inquiries into the matter.