Former Ohio State House Speaker, Larry Householder, and former Ohio Republican Party Chair, Matt Borges, were found guilty of a $60 million bribery scheme.
This was declared the largest corruption case in Ohio’s history by federal prosecutors. A jury in Cincinnati convicted the two of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise that involved bribery and money laundering. They deliberated for around 9.5 hours over two days before delivering their verdict.
The US Attorney, Kenneth Parker, stated that Householder had sold the Statehouse and ultimately betrayed the people of Ohio whom he was elected to serve. He also called Borges a willing co-conspirator. Both Householder and Borges will face up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors claimed that Householder orchestrated a scheme that was secretly funded by FirstEnergy Corp., a company based in Akron, to secure his power in the Legislature, elect his allies, and pass and defend a $1 billion nuclear power plant bailout benefiting the electric utility.
They also claimed that Borges, who was then a lobbyist, attempted to bribe an operative for inside information on the referendum to overturn the bailout.
Householder, who was one of Ohio’s most powerful politicians and had been elected speaker twice, was removed from his leadership post after his indictment, and then in a bipartisan vote, was removed from the chamber, marking the first such expulsion in 150 years. Borges, on the other hand, did not testify at trial, but he has consistently stated that he is innocent.
The verdict comes two-and-a-half years after Householder, Borges, and three others were arrested. During the trial, jurors were presented with firsthand accounts of the alleged scheme, as well as financial documents, emails, texts, and wiretap audio.
Householder testified that he never retaliated against those who voted counter to his wishes or who donated to his rivals.
FirstEnergy admitted to using a network of dark money groups to fund the scheme and bribing the state’s top utility regulator, Sam Randazzo, as part of a deal to avoid prosecution.
Although Randazzo resigned as chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio after an FBI search of his home, he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing.
»Larry Householder and Matt Borges convicted in $60 million bribery scheme«
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