The answer is simple. Grifters gonna grift.
"Earlier this week, we learned that a two-year-old company that had two full-time employees the day Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico was awarded a $300 million contract to rebuild the island’s electrical grid. Whitefish Energy seemed like an odd choice, given that its biggest project to date was a $1.3 million deal to “replace and upgrade parts of a 4.8-mile transmission line in Arizona,” for which it was given 11 months to complete. (As a point of comparison, there are 2,400 miles of transmission lines spread across Puerto Rico.) In addition to its lack of experience, the amount of money Whitefish has convinced Puerto Rico—which is bankrupt—to fork over has raised eyebrows; only eight contracts for more than $20 million have been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corp of Engineers, with half of those going toward shipments of food and bottled water.
The fact that Whitefish happens to be based in the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who knows Whitefish owner Andy Techmanski, and whose son worked a summer job at one of Techmanski’s construction sites, has added yet another layer of intrigue to the situation. And now, just a day after Whitefish told people to quit their “carping,” several officials, both in Congress and in Puerto Rico, are asking questions about the unusual arrangement.
The Hill reports that Puerto Rico’s Governor, Ricardo Rosselló, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general’s office on Wednesday, requesting an audit into exactly how Whitefish won the $300 million contract. Rosselló described a three-hour conference call between FEMA and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) representatives during which FEMA attempted to ensure the contract was in accordance with emergency procurement rules and regulations."
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"Earlier this week, we learned that a two-year-old company that had two full-time employees the day Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico was awarded a $300 million contract to rebuild the island’s electrical grid. Whitefish Energy seemed like an odd choice, given that its biggest project to date was a $1.3 million deal to “replace and upgrade parts of a 4.8-mile transmission line in Arizona,” for which it was given 11 months to complete. (As a point of comparison, there are 2,400 miles of transmission lines spread across Puerto Rico.) In addition to its lack of experience, the amount of money Whitefish has convinced Puerto Rico—which is bankrupt—to fork over has raised eyebrows; only eight contracts for more than $20 million have been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corp of Engineers, with half of those going toward shipments of food and bottled water.
The fact that Whitefish happens to be based in the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who knows Whitefish owner Andy Techmanski, and whose son worked a summer job at one of Techmanski’s construction sites, has added yet another layer of intrigue to the situation. And now, just a day after Whitefish told people to quit their “carping,” several officials, both in Congress and in Puerto Rico, are asking questions about the unusual arrangement.
The Hill reports that Puerto Rico’s Governor, Ricardo Rosselló, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general’s office on Wednesday, requesting an audit into exactly how Whitefish won the $300 million contract. Rosselló described a three-hour conference call between FEMA and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) representatives during which FEMA attempted to ensure the contract was in accordance with emergency procurement rules and regulations."
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