PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Ethics Commission has opened an investigation into Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s lunch meeting with a lobbyist and Scout Ltd., the company that was interested in a long-term $55 million contract with the state to redevelop the Cranston Street Armory.
The move by the commission via a Tuesday morning vote in executive session was the result of complaint filed by the R.I. GOP, alleging the January lunch at the Capital Grille violated state ethics rules prohibiting the acceptance of gifts in excess of $25 from parties seeking government contracts. The bill for the lunch was reported to be $228 and paid by Jeff Britt, a statehouse lobbyist.
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In 2020, Scout submitted a proposal to rehabilitate the 200,000-square-foot building for office, retail and recreational uses. After a third-party assessment by Jones Lang Lasalle of Scout Ltd.’s proposal to redevelop the Armory building in the city’s West End, the administration announced it was no longer considering the plan, saying the report made clear “that the numbers for the proposal put too much risk on the state and not enough on other sources.”
The administration decided to scrap its relationship with Scout Ltd. and later revealed it was in talks with Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley about the possibility of transferring the property to the city.
The ethics commission voted in June to investigate two former state officials for their alleged behavior during a Philadelphia trip to visit one of Scout’s developments. That trip made national headlines after Scout officials complained about the behavior of David Patten, the former director of state property, and James Thorsen, the former director of the R.I. Department of Administration, who has since left state government to take a position with the U.S. Treasury Department.
Emails outlining the alleged behavior were ordered released by R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who ruled in favor of WPRI-TV and The Providence Journal in an open-records complaint.
McKee’s press secretary, Olivia DaRocha, declined comment on the most recent probe in a Tuesday email.
“As this was a fundraising lunch related to the governor’s political organization, you will need to reach out to his campaign for comment,” she said.
McKee campaign spokesperson Mike Trainor said the campaign “looks forward to the conduct and completion of the Ethics Commission investigation.”
“This complaint is politically…not ethically…motivated by the GOP,” he said.
In a Tuesday press release titled “Rhode Island: A State of Embarrassment,” R.I. GOP Chairman Joe Powers thanked the commission and said it “needs to expose Rhode Island’s pay-to-play political culture.”
The complaint was filed in June and argues the lunch violated ethics regulations whether or not the bill was reimbursed.
(UPDATE: DaRocha comment clarified in 8th paragraph, Trainor comments added in 9th and 10th paragraphs)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
and if McKee’s portion of the bill was under $25, then what RIGOP?!
THIS is why people think the RIGOP is a clownshow, because they want the voters of Rhode Island to believe that a multimillion dollar project would be bought with a $228 bill!
Get real!
Get some policy proposals!
Get some REAL leadership!