House Bill 6
The utility bailout House Bill 6 made both Ohio’s air and politics dirty
With all the drama surrounding the Householder trial for racketeering, it can be easy to forget the bill behind the former Ohio Speaker of the House’s alleged $60 million payoff from First Energy power company. House Bill 6 had four major impacts. It required power consumers to bail out two massive nuclear power plants in […]
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 […]
Citing a hazy memory, former rep seems to distance himself from scandal
CINCINNATI — Former state Rep. Nino Vitale on Tuesday testified that he didn’t have much of a memory for — nor was he much interested in — raising money or campaigning for office. At several points, the Republican from Urbana even said he didn’t remember what year he was first elected to the legislature (it […]
Recordings in corruption trial: Borges paid man $15K while asking him to spy
CINCINNATI — In 2019, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges repeatedly insisted that he wasn’t paying a man to spy on the effort to repeal a corrupt utility bailout, but recordings played in court Monday show that Borges paid the man $15,000 while pressing him for inside information on the repeal campaign. The federal […]
Ohio utility regulator front and center in massive bailout scandal
CINCINNATI — Ohio’s utility regulator is at the center of a massive bribery and money laundering scandal that has been the focus of a trial here since late last month. In 2019, its chairman and a very recent senior official played a central role in writing corrupt bailout legislation that would give more than $1 billion […]
Defense lawyer boils over in Ohio utility bailout and political bribery racketeering trial
CINCINNATI — The defense of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder erupted Thursday in Householder’s epic corruption trial. Defense attorney Mark Marein of Cleveland suggested it was because of U.S. District Judge Timothy Black’s unfairness. But it came after a day in which the defense team’s attempts to undermine prosecution witnesses’ credibility might have come […]
Stalking, assault alleged in repeal fight over corrupt utility bailout in Ohio
CINCINNATI — Tens of millions didn’t just go to pay for a spate of nasty, xenophobic ads to stop a repeal of a corrupt utility bailout in 2019. Some of that money also paid people to stalk, harass and even assault workers who were gathering signatures to get the repeal onto the ballot, the head […]
Six transgender girls play sports in Ohio, but GOP wants them out
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. Six girls across Ohio may no longer be able to play on their […]
‘It would be bad for both of us if the story came out’
This monthly newsletter provides updates on Ohio’s ongoing utility corruption scandal and is a joint project of Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, and the nonprofit Energy News Network. “It would be bad for both of us if the story came out. But it would be worse for you,” lobbyist Matt Borges told […]
Corrupt Ohio utility bailout sprung out of fertile ground, recordings show
CINCINNATI — When Akron-based FirstEnergy made huge contributions between 2017 and 2019 to get a giant bailout from the Ohio government, the deal was developed in a corrupt ecosystem, secret recordings and other evidence presented in federal court Wednesday showed. Multiple players on Capitol Square had conflicted interests and seemed to be acting out of […]
Co-conspirator testifies against former Ohio Speaker Larry Householder in corruption trial
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. Former FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes admitted guilt under oath in the multi-million dollar […]