Former Ohio Republican House Speaker Sentenced To 20 Years In $60M Nuclear Power Plant Bribery Scheme

The Associated Press reports:

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history. Householder had pleaded for mercy ahead of the sentencing — not on behalf of himself, but his wife of 40 years, sons and friends. The 64-year-old Republican appeared before U.S. District Judge Timothy Black, who meted out the punishment.

Jurors found that Householder orchestrated and lobbyist Matt Borges participated in a $60 million bribery scheme secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to secure Householder’s power, elect his allies, pass legislation containing a $1 billion bailout for two aging nuclear power plants owned by a FirstEnergy affiliate and then to use a dirty tricks campaign to stifle a ballot effort to overturn the bill.

Read the full article.

Borges is the former chair of the Ohio state Republican Party. His sentencing comes tomorrow. My previous reports on Householder’s arrest and subsequent expulsion from the Ohio House are here.

BREAKING: Ex-Republican House Speaker Larry Householder has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a $60M bribery scheme dubbed the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. Convicted of racketeering in April, he is expected to appeal. https://t.co/fZu8vlcwt4

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 29, 2023