He said he did ask what was in the shoebox Patten walked away with, but Patten claimed it was just an empty shoebox.

And Thorsen said he did end up paying for the lunch they had at a fancy restaurant after learning that Patten had not paid the bill, as promised.

Get Rhode Map

A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.

The commission did not issue a ruling Tuesday. Both sides will submit post-trial memos by April 1, and the commission will issue a decision after hearing closing arguments on April 8.

Last year, Patten, the former director of the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, agreed to pay a $5,000 ethics fine for his role in the March 2023 trip, which made national headlines.

But Thorsen is still trying to clear his name. He testified Tuesday that the episode has hurt his job prospects since stepping down as administration director in April 2023.

He said he had returned to work as a full-time contractor for the US Treasury Department when news of the Philadelphia trip broke.

“I was actively working on a project in Indonesia when this hit the press, and they asked me to stop working,” Thorsen said in response to questions from his attorney, Kevin J. Bristow.

Bristow asked Thorsen if he is working now.

“I officiate high school track meets,” Thorsen said. “That’s what I do.”

Other than that, he is not employed, he said.

Bristow asked if that was a result of the ethics complaint and the Philadelphia trip issue.

“Sure,” Thorsen said. “Google my name.”

The Philadelphia trip made headlines after executives at Scout Ltd., a company seeking to redevelop the Cranston Street Armory, wrote an e-mail alleging a series of sexist, racist, and otherwise inappropriate comments made during a March 10, 2023, trip by Patten and Thorsen.

The two officials toured the Bok building, an eight-story former vocational school in South Philadelphia that Scout has converted into a hub of community activity, local artisans, small businesses, and nonprofits.

Scout officials wrote that at almost every visit to Scout tenants, Patten insisted on taking something home with him, including hand-blown glass, a pair of sneakers, and vegan cheese.

During Tuesday’s testimony, Thorsen said he and Patten stopped at Bandit, a company that makes cheese from plants.

Thorsen said he not aware that Patten requested and received a sample of cheese to take home. “He told me he bought some cheese and was supporting the local economy,” he said.

Thorsen said Patten often lagged behind when they stopped to talk with Scout tenants. And he said he was not aware that Patten had asked for and received a pair of sneakers from Diadora, an Italian sneaker and sportswear brand in the Bok building.

He said he did see Patten with a shoebox, and he asked what was in the box. He said Patten told him, “It’s just a box. It sounds weird, but my son collects these. Is that a big deal?” And he told Patten, “No, I don’t think so.”

Thorsen said he found Patten’s answer plausible because they had been told that Diodora had an office in the building, not a shoe store.

But he told Jason M. Gramitt, the Ethics Commission prosecutor, that he later concluded that Patten lied to him about the shoes and other matters.

Under questioning by Gramitt, Thorsen acknowledged that a Scout employees had written to him about having lunch at Irwin’s, a Michelin Star restaurant in the Bok Building, and asked if he had any food allergies. Thorsen wrote back to the Scout employee saying he was allergic to calamari, which is the Rhode Island state appetizer.

When Gramitt asked if that was a joke, Thorsen said, “I actually get a rash. I love it, and it doesn’t love me.”

Thorsen said Patten had told him he would pay for the lunch in Philadelphia because Thorsen had paid for a group of state officials to go out for drinks and food the previous night in Providence.

Thorsen said that after he learned of the Scout email raising objections about the trip, he asked Scout officials for a bill for the lunch. The lunch came to $131.15 person. He said he ended up paying for $262.30 for both him and Patten on April 6, 2023.

At one point during the tour, according to Scout’s email, Patten commented on the appearance of Scout co-founder Lindsey Scannapieco, saying, “If I knew your husband wasn’t going to be here, I would have come last night.”

Thorsen said he was talking to another executive at the time and did not hear the full extent of that comment by Patten. But he said he did hear Patten say “something about her dog being fat.”

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.