Dive Brief:

• Employees at the Knott landfill in Oregon called the police when they noticed former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancé Cylvia Hayes dropping off waste for disposal at the site.
• The staff said they were suspicious the couple was tossing their waste out at the landfill while still under investigation. Kitzhaber was forced to resign in February following allegations of ethics violations.
• The trash they dropped off reportedly included old campaign signs and a box spring. 

Dive Insight:

Landfill operators on the scene said the county sheriff's deputies poked through the couple's trash for about an hour. The FBI is handling the ongoing criminal investigation and would not comment on any findings, or lack thereof, discovered at the landfill.

Federal authorities are investigating Kitzhaber and his fiancé’s work with advocacy groups with an interest in state policy. The former governor denies the couple was involved in any wrongdoing.

The director of the county’s solid waste department, Timm Schimke, said he thought it was unusual that the couple was at the transfer station “so soon” after his resignation and with the two “being under investigation.”