householder
Ohio House won’t release texts between House Rep and indicted ex-Speaker
Lawyers with the Ohio House of Representatives denied a public records requests for text messages between a sitting lawmaker and the former House Speaker, who was expelled by his peers while under a racketeering indictment related to alleged public corruption. State Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, and Larry Householder regularly exchange text messages and talk on […]
Ohio judge helped write a bailout that led to arrests; now he’s blocking outside probes
A judge who oversees utility cases was involved in writing a coal and nuclear bailout now at the center of what prosecutors have described as the largest public corruption case in Ohio history, subpoenaed documents show. That same judge, Greg Price, is presiding over multiple regulatory cases in which a government watchdog agency is trying […]
FirstEnergy pushed for ‘cooperative’ utility regulator; DeWine heeded its pick
FirstEnergy executives and two powerful politicians who the company admitted to bribing all unified behind renominating a “very cooperative” incumbent to serve on a key regulatory panel, the company stated in court filings. The filing doesn’t identify the commissioner, but only refers to an “incumbent” and then-current “PUCO official.” Commissioner Lawrence K. Friedeman was the […]
Householder asks judge to dismiss public corruption case against him
Former Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder asked a federal judge to toss out a case against him that prosecutors have called the largest probe of public corruption in state history. In a motion filed late Tuesday evening, lawyers for Householder argued that there was no “quid pro quo,” or explicit favor-for-a-favor agreement, between […]
Feds expect Householder trial to take six weeks; could occur this fall
Federal prosecutors indicated Wednesday they expect the public corruption trial of former House Speaker Larry Householder will take about six weeks and could occur sometime this coming fall. Attorneys representing Householder and an alleged co-conspirator generally agreed a trial would take six weeks to leave time for jury selection and the parties to make their […]
State regulators made ‘utility-friendly’ edits to audit of coal plant bailout, emails show
Documents show state utility regulators sought edits to draft versions of an audit they commissioned, prompting the removal of declarations that a ratepayer-funded bailout of two uneconomic coal plants was a bad deal for Ohio electric customers. Staff at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which sets customers’ water and electric rates, asked an auditor […]
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. […]
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 […]
Ohio consumer watchdog asks regulators to revisit coal plant bailouts
A consumer watchdog last week asked state regulators to revisit their decision to allow two Ohio utility companies to pass onto customers their losses on two coal-fired power plants they partially own. The Ohio Consumers Counsel (OCC), which represents residential ratepayers in utility issues, asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to revisit its […]
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 […]
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 […]