Public Corruption
Ohio AG files antitrust suit against Express Scripts, Humana, others
In a development that is likely shaking the world of health insurance, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday sued six corporate entities over the way they facilitate drug transactions. Yost filed the suit under the Valentine Act — Ohio’s antitrust law — accusing the companies of improperly colluding to fix prices and other actions […]
Coal plants helped cause bribery scandal. Now FirstEnergy might be buying one back
Akron-based FirstEnergy might be poised to increase its coal-fired generation capacity by 40% with the purchase of a West Virginia plant it owned less than four years ago and spun off as part of a massive racketeering scandal. The reason why the company paid out more than $60 million between 2017 and 2020 to force […]
Analysis: Bribery scandal shows how Ohio politics is polluted with dark money
CINCINNATI — A utility bailout at the center of a massive bribery and money laundering scandal was such bad legislation — and it was pushed in such bad faith — that it’s hard to see how it could have survived without the more than $60 million in bribes that sustained it. And, while FirstEnergy CEO […]
More indictments ‘likely’ in Householder bribery scandal, legal expert says
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. As former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder awaits sentencing for his role […]
What the guilty verdicts in Ohio’s corruption case mean for energy policy and good government
This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Jurors in Ohio’s House Bill 6 criminal corruption case […]
Former Ohio speaker, GOP chair both found guilty of racketeering
CINCINNATI — After more than nine hours of deliberation, a jury on Thursday found former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and state Republican Chairman Matt Borges guilty of felony racketeering charges in connection with a billion-dollar utility bailout that was passed in 2019. Both men face maximum sentences of 20 years in what prosecutors said […]
Deliberations begin in epic corruption trial
CINCINNATI — A jury was sent home Wednesday after about six hours of deliberation in Ohio’s massive public corruption trial. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and state Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges are accused of racketeering in a scheme to use more than $60 million in money from Akron-based FirstEnergy to make Householder speaker […]
Prosecutors: common sense that Householder’s guilty. Defense: They’re lying
CINCINNATI — If jurors rely on their common sense they’ll know that Akron-based FirstEnergy gave former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder $60 million for one reason: to pass a billion-dollar bailout for the company, federal prosecutors asserted Tuesday. But one of Householder’s attorneys accused the feds of bias in selecting their so-called mountain of evidence, […]
Defenders claimed corrupt energy bill would save money. Prosecutor smashed that claim, too
Jim Trakas was the Republican nominee for Ohio House District 6, but lost the General Election in 2018. As a consultant, he supported House Bill 6 the following year, but couldn’t vote for it. This story has been updated. CINCINNATI — On the stand in federal court, one witness after another testified that he supported […]
FirstEnergy scandal whistleblower says he feels vindicated after public corruption trial testimony
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Tyler Fehrman, the Republican operative who is credited with exposing mass public corruption […]
On the stand, former House speaker confronted by prosecutors with inconsistencies
CINCINNATI — From recordings of threats against other lawmakers’ kids, to undisclosed gifts, to nearly $2 million in undisclosed debts, federal prosecutors on Thursday confronted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder with facts that appeared to refute things he said about himself under oath a day earlier. The cross examination prompted some observers to say […]
Householder denies D.C. dinners, tying donations to legislation
CINCINNATI — Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on Wednesday claimed that he never promised any legislative action to FirstEnergy in exchange for the tens of millions the company paid into a 501(c)(4) dark money group he controlled. He also denied attending dinners in Washington, D.C., during Donald Trump’s inauguration during which other witnesses said […]