Current Events > Ohio House Speaker arrested for bribery

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Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues were arrested by federal officials Tuesday as part of a bribery investigation involving the states $1 billion nuclear plant bailout and Householders maneuverings to secure support to lead the legislative chamber.

Householder, 61, of Glenford, is charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy involving the funneling of energy company funds through Generation Now, a dark money group formed by a longtime associate, with some proceeds used to back the campaigns of legislative candidates supportive of Householders run for Speaker.

The felony carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Also arrested Tuesday as part of the alleged conspiracy were:

Matt Borges, 48, of Bexley, the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and a lobbyist.

Jeffrey Longstreth, 44, of Columbus, a longtime campaign and political strategist for Householder.

Neil Clark, 67, of Columbus, a lobbyist who owns Grant Street Consultants.

Juan Cespedes, 40, of Columbus, a lobbyist.

The five men made their initial appearance electronically in federal court early Tuesday afternoon. They were released from custody afterward, with travel restrictions and prohibitions on contact with others involved in the case.

Agents made the arrests of Householder, Borges and Clark this morning at their residences. It is unclear where the arrests of Longstreth and Cespedes took place.

The arrests come after a nearly two-year investigation into bribes and money laundering by the FBI, according to a federal investigator involved in the arrests.

The investigation included dinners and meetings between undercover federal agents and Householder and Clark where the men made incriminating statements about illegal activity and bribes.

The investigator said more arrests connected to the investigation are expected.

Generation Now was incorporated by Longstreth in early 2017, but federal officials say they have a recording that shows it secretly was controlled by Householder. Federal officials have a recorded conversation of Clark saying Generation Now is the Speakers....

An 82-page criminal complaint alleges Generation Now received about $60 million in exchange for Householder and others help in the passage of House Bill 6 and the blocking of a ballot initiative to overturn the legislation.

The redacted criminal complaint was unsealed early Tuesday afternoon.

Householder played a pivotal role last year in the passage of the controversial bill now in law to give FirstEnergy Solutions, of Akron, a $1 billion ratepayer bailout of its pair of nuclear power plants along Lake Erie.

Redacted court documents unsealed Tuesday afternoon did not specifically name energy companies involved, though they noted that Company A entities paid Householders enterprise $60,886,835.86 in secret payments over the approximately three-year period in exchange for the billion-dollar-bailout. The enterprise concealed the payments ... to receive the bribe money and then transferring the payments internally to a web of related entities and accounts.

Documents added, The millions paid into the entity were akin to bags of cash unlike campaign or PAC contributions, they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny and the enterprise freely spent the bribe payments to further the enterprises political interests and to enrich themselves.

The activities took place from March 2017 through earlier this year, federal officials said, with quarterly payments of $250,000 from related energy companies deposited into the bank account of Generation Now.

Investigators allege the nonprofit used energy company money to back the campaigns of 21 different state candidates in the 2018 primary and general elections, including Householder.

More than $1 million was spent on negative ads against those candidates opponents, with additional funds paying for Householders campaign staff, according to documents.

Most of the backed candidates won in 2018, and all supported Householders election as Speaker, investigators said.

Additionally, Householder received $400,000-plus in personal benefits, including funds to settle a personal lawsuit, to pay off credit card debt and for costs associated with his home in Florida, according to documents.

Other funds were used to pay for insider information about a ballot initiative to stop HB 6.

FirstEnergy, which spun off FirstEnergy Solutions in bankruptcy proceedings, gave more than $1.1 million to Ohio politicians, including Householder, between 2017 and late 2019.

FirstEnergy Solutions was renamed Energy Harbor Corp. following an unsuccessful, bitter, multi-million dollar defense of House Bill 6 against a proposed measure to place it on the ballot for a repeal vote.

Cespedes was listed by the state as a lobbyist last year for Energy Harbor.

FirstEnergy Solutions paid nearly $1.9 million to Generation Now, which fought the failed referendum, shortly before votes on House Bill 6 in the legislature, according to Dispatch research. The group went on to spend more than $9 million on TV ads to fight the ultimately failed referendum seeking to repeal the bill.

Householder is a longtime, large figure among Ohio Republicans who is on his second stint as Ohio House speaker. He last served as speaker from 2001 to 2004, before he left the House because of term limits.

He recaptured the speakership in 2019 with the help of House Democrats.

During his first speaker term, he and aides were the subject of an FBI investigation into allegations they received kickbacks and pushed legislation in exchange for campaign contributions. No charges were filed in the case, which ended in 2006.

JPL & Associates, a Columbus political consulting firm, was listed as president of Generation Now, a social welfare nonprofit. Jeff Longstreth, a principal in the firm, is a longtime adviser to Householder and has worked for the House GOP caucus.

I heard he was ridin for Biden

Republican

do they ever do anything...legal???

I heard he was ridin for Biden

ANOTHER Republican caught in a scandal? We should seriously look into outlawing that party.