CLEVELAND — Legal analysis: It's been called the most elaborate and extensive bribery scandal in the history of Ohio politics, with $60 million in bribes paid by FirstEnergy, one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, to influence legislation in Ohio to get their customers to bail out two failing nuclear power plants. And it extends beyond Ohio.
As we wait to see what new details come to light in the federal racketeering and conspiracy trial of former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and lobbyist and former Ohio Republican party chair Matt Borges, we’re shining a light on dark money and explaining the FirstEnergy bribery scandal.
We went straight to the sources and broke down what we know from the people who were in office when House bill 6 was passed, lawsuits against FirstEnergy, guilty pleas from others involved, and what people from FirstEnergy, have admitted to in order to avoid criminal charges, themselves.
Watch this special edition of Legally Speaking in the video player below:
We reached out to the major players involved in this case who had not already pleaded guilty, and all of them declined to be interviewed by us.
The parties involved include former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder, Householder’s longtime political staffer Jeffrey Longstreth, former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones, former FirstEnergy senior vice president for external affairs Michael Dowling, former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Sam Randazzo, controversial Cleveland business owner Tony George, lobbyist and former chair of the Ohio republican party Matt Borges, Ohio lobbyist Juan Cespedes, and deceased Ohio lobbyist Neil Clark.
Stephanie Haney is licensed to practice law in both Ohio and California.
The information in this article and video is provided for general informational purposes only. None of the information in this article and video is offered, nor should it be construed, as legal advice on any matter.