Jeffrey Longstreth

AEP doesn’t have much to say about its support for corrupt utility bailout

BY: - April 3, 2023

Columbus-based utility giant AEP wasn’t at the epicenter of a historic bribery and money-laundering scandal in 2019. But it also wasn’t very far away as a corrupt deal was hatched in the Ohio Capitol to use $61 million in bribes to pass a $1.3 billion bailout. The name of the nation’s sixth-largest electric utility came […]

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder gives the thumbs up as he enters a federal courthouse in Cincinnati. Photo from WEWS.

Prosecutors: common sense that Householder’s guilty. Defense: They’re lying

BY: - March 8, 2023

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, […]

Householder denies D.C. dinners, tying donations to legislation

BY: - March 1, 2023

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

BY: - February 28, 2023

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 […]

Ohio utility regulator front and center in massive bailout scandal

BY: - February 27, 2023

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 […]

Householder corruption trial: Regulator sent resume to utility he was regulating 

BY: - February 13, 2023

CINCINNATI — At the start of 2019 — as work was beginning on a corrupt $1.3 billion bailout — a senior official with the state’s utility regulator sent his resume to a top lobbyist at one of the utilities he was supposed to be regulating. That might seem improper, but the top person charged in […]

Texts show close consultation between Householder and FirstEnergy execs on utility bailout

BY: - February 2, 2023

A series of text messages displayed in federal court Thursday showed close consultation between executives of an electric utility and a lawmaker after the utility made huge contributions to make him Ohio House speaker. The consultations occurred as the lawmaker and the utility worked furiously to pass a huge bailout favoring the company.

Public service or massive theft? Arguments begin in Ohio bribery and corruption case

BY: - January 24, 2023

CINCINNATI — It depends on who you listen to. It was either a gargantuan bribery and money laundering scheme or it was a case of a conscientious public servant using his free speech rights to help the people of Ohio. Those were the stories told Monday by opposing counsel in the racketeering trial of former […]