Company wins new contracts despite federal probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army has awarded $80 million in helicopter contracts to Wall Street executive Lynn Tilton even as the Justice Department investigates whether she played by the rules to win earlier military work.

Tilton is the founder of the private equity firm Patriarch Partners, which owns MD Helicopters of Mesa, Arizona, and dozens of other companies.

The Justice Department inquiry is focused on Tilton's hiring of a former Army officer who ran an Army acquisition office in Huntsville, Alabama. The officer allegedly steered millions of dollars in contracts to MD Helicopters while the pair negotiated his future employment.

Under the terms of the two new deals, MD Helicopters will provide Afghanistan's air force with armed helicopters.