Get the latest market trends in your inbox
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with the Axios Markets newsletter. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul
Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg
Photo: Juan C. Cruz/EyeEm/Getty Images
A former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official was arrested Tuesday after an investigation found she accepted bribes from the head of a company that won $1.8 billion in federal contracts for Hurricane Maria recovery, the New York Times reports.
What we know: Ahsha Tribble was a deputy administrator and oversaw the region that includes Puerto Rico. Reports indicate she took bribes from Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions. Prosecutors allege the 2 had a "close personal relationship," with Ellison gifting Tribble a helicopter tour, plane tickets, expense-free hotel accommodations and more in exchange for Tribble influencing FEMA projects to Cobra's benefit.
- A second FEMA official, Jovanda Patterson, who worked for Tribble and later for Cobra, was also arrested, per the U.S. attorney for Puerto Rico.
- Following a Feb. 2018 explosion at a transmission center, Tribble urged Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority to use Cobra services — "even though leaders of the utility insisted they could do the same work at a far lower cost," per the Times.
Go deeper: $400M in Puerto Rico recovery projects deferred over Trump border wall