CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder’s role in a racketeering plot hinged on his election to the top spot in the state’s House of Representatives, according to a federal complaint released on Thursday.
Householder, who previously served as House speaker from 2001 to 2004, represents House District 72, southeast of Columbus. He, along with four associates, face charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering. That could mean a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine if he’s convicted.
This isn’t the first federal investigation to cloud Householder’s political career. The FBI investigated allegations of kickbacks and other issues in 2004 during his first term as speaker, but Householder never faced charges as a result of the investigation.
The most recent investigation outlined in federal documents unsealed Tuesday alleges that Householder represented a political solution to FirstEnergy’s financial problems. Investigators outlined in the 82-page complaint and affidavit that Householder’s relationship with the midwestern energy giant was something of an exchange: Householder would get FirstEnergy its bailout of nuclear power plants and it would finance Householder’s election as Speaker of the House, according to the complaint.
The ensuing scheme would involve $60 million in payments from First Energy to Generation Now, a nonprofit federal investigators said was controlled by Householder. Those payments were made from March 2017 through March 2020.
See a full list of payments at the bottom of this post.
Lobbyist Matthew Borges, also charged and arrested Tuesday, described Householder’s deal with FirstEnergy as an “unholy alliance,” the court documents say.
FirstEnergy channeled money into 501(c)(4) Generation Now, which was first redirected to fund Householder’s election to the House and his bid for speaker, the complaint says. Householder faced incumbent Republican Speaker Ryan Smith in the election, and won 52 to 45.
Householder is not listed as creator of the nonprofit, but text messages and recorded conversations included in the criminal complaint associate Householder with Generation Now, with lobbyist Neil Clark suggesting that anyone who made out checks to Generation Now should hand them to Householder personally, as it’s “his C4.”
About $215,000 was also wired out of Generation Now’s account to settle a personal lawsuit against Householder, according to the complaint. Money was also used to pay more than $100,000 in expenses related to Householder’s Florida home, the complaint says.
After FirstEnergy money helped secure election wins for candidates that would support Householder’s bid for the speakership, the speaker used his political power to drum up support for HB6, a bill that would bail out two of FirstEnergy’s nuclear power plants, and to orchestrate the defeat the ensuing petition for a referendum.
According to the complaint, Householder directly influenced members of the General Assembly, then helped coordinate positive media for those who supported his goals. The day after he was elected speaker, he pledged to create a standing subcommittee on energy generation, according to the complaint.
In a text exchange, Householder asked if the team, using money channeled from Generation Now, was running positive ads for a representative.
“Got to protect the troops — especially make sure they believe we are protecting them,” he said, according to the complaint.
The vote on HB6 did not come easily, drawing controversy and media attention. Large payments came from FirstEnergy to Generation Now during the process: $9.4 million while the bill was passing in the House, $7.35 million in the Senate.
Money was then also used in combatting a campaign to send a referendum to reconsider the bill to Ohio voters. A legal appeal for more time to gather signatures for the measure was dropped in January.
Payment list from FirstEnergy to Generation Now:
| Date | Direct | Pass Through | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 16, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| May 17, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| August 10, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| December 8, 2017 | $250,000 | Wired | |
| March 15, 2018 | $300,000 | Wired | |
| May 4, 2018 | $100,000 | Wired | |
| August 16, 2018 | $500,000 | Wired | |
| October 16, 2018 | $400,000 | Check | |
| October 29, 2018 | $100,000 | Check | |
| April 30, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 7, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 15, 2019 | $2,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 22, 2019 | $2,500,000 | Wired | |
| May 29, 2019 | $1,500,000 | Wired | |
| June 5, 2019 | $2,000,000 | Wired | |
| June 13, 2019 | $1,361,899 | Wired | |
| June 20, 2019 | $2,116,899 | Wired | |
| July 5, 2019 | $1,879,457 | Wired | |
| August 2, 2019 | $734,250 | Wired | |
| August 7, 2019 | $4,390,000 | Wired | |
| August 22, 2019 | $653,000 | Wired | |
| August 29, 2019 | $2,003,000 | Wired | |
| September 5, 2019 | $2,403,000 | Wired | |
| September 12, 2019 | $2,403,000 | Wired | |
| September 19, 2019 | $4,695,000 | Wired | |
| September 26, 2019 | $2,445,000 | Wired | |
| October 3, 2019 | $4,160,000 | Wired | |
| October 8, 2019 | $1,600,000 | Wired | |
| October 10, 2019 | $10,000,000 | Wired | |
| October 17, 2019 | $248,000 | Wired | |
| October 22, 2019 | $3,000,000 | Wired | |
| October 22, 2019 | $4,331 | Check | |
| March 3, 2020 | $2,000,000 | Wired | |
| Total | $44,092,505 | $15,904,331 | |
| Grand total | $59,996,836 | ||
Read more:
Who is Jeff Longstreth and what is he accused of in the Ohio statehouse bribery case?
Who is Neil Clark and what is he accused of in the Ohio statehouse bribery case
Who is Matthew Borges and what is he accused of in the Ohio Statehouse bribery case?
Who is Juan Cespedes and what is he accused of in the Ohio statehouse bribery case
Read the full complaint: