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GOP Ohio senator fought to repeal corrupt law; party leaders drew him out of his district
New lines drawn by state GOP leaders ousted Sen. Mark Romanchuk, a Republican from Richland County, from the district that elected him to his seat in 2020. Since the indictment of the former speaker of the House last summer and subsequent guilty pleas from four alleged co-conspirators, Romanchuk has led the charge among Ohio Republicans […]
Amid corruption scandal, energy money continues to flow to state lawmakers
It’s going to take more than a bribery scandal on a historic scale to get energy money out of Ohio politics. Campaign finance reports, submitted late last week, show the campaign contribution pipeline from the natural gas and utility industries to Ohio lawmakers’ campaign accounts is alive and well. The vast majority went to Republicans, […]
FirstEnergy said it bribed a regulator for $4.3 million. Here’s how it worked.
FirstEnergy admitted in court documents last week it paid the state’s top utility regulator $4.3 million to use his perch to save the company hundreds of millions via friendly administrative rulings. The company’s allegation against Sam Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, came in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. […]
DeWine says he didn’t know about alleged $4.3m bribe of utility regulator he appointed
Gov. Mike DeWine distanced himself Monday from a utility regulator he appointed who was accused last week of accepting millions in bribes from FirstEnergy Corp. FirstEnergy said in a court filing last week that it paid Sam Randazzo $22 million in consulting fees in the decade leading up to his appointment as chairman of the […]
FirstEnergy paid $4.3 mil to top energy regulator and reaped the benefits, court docs state
An energy lobbyist who Gov. Mike DeWine appointed as the state’s top regulator of public utilities received $22 million from FirstEnergy Corp. in the decade before his appointment — including $4.3 million paid just before assuming the post and specifically to execute official duties to benefit the Akron-based utility — court documents revealed Thursday. Sam […]
Bar machine operators gave $100k to nonprofit that pleaded guilty in statehouse bribery case
A trade association connected to bar machine operators paid $100,000 to a political nonprofit that pleaded guilty to its role in an alleged bribery operation engineered by the former Speaker of the Ohio House, tax records show. The 2019 payment came from the Fair Gaming Coalition of Ohio (FGCO), which has deep ties to the […]
Nearly a year after a racketeering indictment, Ohio House expels Householder
The Ohio House voted Wednesday to expel Larry Householder, arrested on charges of public corruption nearly one year ago, from the chamber his Republican — and even some Democratic — colleagues thrice elected him to control. The expulsion could mark the end of Householder’s decades-long political career, which has included a previous tenure as speaker […]
Indicted Householder spars with House Republicans who want him out
In a show of defiance, indicted Rep. Larry Householder proclaimed his innocence to House leadership Tuesday and rebuffed bipartisan efforts seeking his ouster. Householder, with his criminal defense attorney periodically whispering in his ear, made a two-pronged argument for himself. For one, he said the allegations against him are just that — “unproven” and “one-sided” […]
Coal plants’ owners fight to protect ‘worst of the bad subsidies’
Subsidy? What subsidy? Three Ohio utilities and a representative of the coal-fired power plants they jointly own appeared before a Senate committee Tuesday to defend an estimated $700 million subsidy they’re set to receive from ratepayers through 2030. The committee met to consider a bipartisan effort to repeal the subsidy, which was codified in 2019 […]
House leadership weighs political fate of their indicted colleague
Nearly a year since state Rep. Larry Householder was arrested on public corruption charges, four rank-and-file lawmakers argued their case to Ohio House leadership Thursday that it’s the House’s duty to purge Householder from the chamber he once controlled. The lawmakers — two Republicans and two Democrats — introduced separate but similar resolutions last month […]
Feds seize records from Ohio utility tied to bailout, corruption scandal
An Ohio utility announced Tuesday it’s cooperating with a federal subpoena seeking records related to a massive bailout to coal and nuclear plants that’s now at the center of a public corruption prosecution. American Electric Power — the largest shareholder in a cooperative that owns two coal-fired plants that will receive an estimated $700 million […]
House leader ducks questions about indicted Republican keeping seat
Five men were charged. Four cases remain open. Three plea deals have been signed. Two alleged conspirators might cooperate with federal prosecutors. But only one man, Rep. Larry Householder, R-Glenford, continues to shape state law and draw a taxpayer funded salary of roughly $62,000, even under shadow of a racketeering indictment described by prosecutors as […]