CINCINNATI — Former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder spent what likely were his last moments as a free man around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, and they certainly weren’t pleasant.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Black sentenced the Glenford Republican to the maximum possible sentence of 20 years, then ordered blue-shirted U.S. Marshals to immediately arrest him. He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and officers handcuffed him and led the once-powerful politician away.
But before that humiliation, the judge lambasted Householder for being the ringleader of a bribery scandal in which Akron-based FirstEnergy paid him more than $59 million in bribes in exchange for a $1.3 billion bailout, most of it to save two failing nuclear plants in northern Ohio.
The judge said taxpayers could have used the money for things like education, health care or starting a business.
“You gave that money to people in suits on private jets,” Black said.
The judge delivered his opening statement and issued a sentence, finding that Householder had clearly committed perjury during the criminal trial, which lasted from overdue January to mid-March.
In the filing, Householder claimed he barely knew FirstEnergy executives as federal prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence that Householder flew on corporate jets, sat in luxury lounges and dined at fancy restaurants while funneling tens of millions of corporate dollars into accounts run by illicit businesses.
“You defrauded the people of Ohio, and you tried to defraud a jury,” Black said in a grave voice as Householder, dressed in a gray suit and red tie, leaned back in his chair.
Money from FirstEnergy and one of its subsidiaries was used to elect its Republican candidates in 2018 who were expected to become House Speaker in early 2019. More than $500,000 of that amount went to pay off Householder’s credit card bills, settle a lawsuit and renovate his Florida home.
Tens of millions more were spent to pass a corrupt bailout package—House Bill 6—and to fund a brutal campaign to thwart the citizen-led repeal of the bill.
Earlier in the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter said Householder used undisclosed FirstEnergy money to override a “citizen veto” and “for that reason, House Bill 6 remains in effect.”
It also comes as a Republican supermajority in the divided state of Ohio has refused to repeal the bribery law even after the arrests and during attempts to pass it. practically impossible so that citizens can propose amendments to the Ohio Constitution.
Also arrested in the scandal were lobbyists Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth — who cooperated with prosecutors within days of their arrests — and Neil Clark, who committed suicide. Former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. today, Friday.
Steven Bradley, Householder’s attorney, argued for a more easygoing sentence for his client. Referring to the possibility of a 20-year sentence, he said, “It’s basically life for Larry Householder, given his age and health.”
The homeowner is 64 years elderly and overweight.
Bradley argued that his client was in his 60s when the extortion conspiracy began in overdue 2016 and that Householder had done “countless” good deeds “over decades” before that. A 20-year prison sentence “would not substantially take into account” those good deeds, Bradley said.
But when he spoke on his own behalf, Householder seemed to hurt the case more than he helped it — just as he did at trial.
“My greatest commitment is to my Creator… My next commitment is to my family,” he read from a prepared statement while standing at the podium.
Householder said that in their 38 years of marriage, “I can count on one hand” the number of nights he has spent away from his wife, Taundra. Householder also described the immense pain he felt after losing his four-year-old daughter.
Later, however, he pushed his claims beyond the limits of credibility.
He said Taundra plans to retire from teaching and that next year, when he turns 65, he wants to retire as well, saying he plans to “hang up the suit and tie.”
Householder made the statement in the same courtroom where, just three months earlier, prosecutors testified and presented bank records and written communications dating back to early 2020 that showed FirstEnergy and AEP funneled money to black market groups designed to fund efforts to change state term limits so Householder could stay in office as long as he was elected. 16 more years.
The former House Speaker also suggested that he wanted a easygoing sentence not for himself, but for his family. Taundra, he said, would be alone, while “I’ll be in a cold cell a few hours away.”
But what may have really unsettled Judge Black was Householder’s selfless public service.
“My life has been a total and complete dedication to improving the lives of those I serve,” he said.
Black described voters who displayed “Householder” signs, donated hard-earned money to his campaign and pressed a button in the voting booth.
“I’m not talking about any corporation or (former FirstEnergy CEO) Chuck Jones,” Black said. The judge said Householder’s constituents who supported him “said, ‘I choose to trust you,’ and you betrayed that trust.”
Black used Householder’s own words to refute his claims. He cited several Householder recordings that were secretly made during the conspiracy and played at trial.
“If you’re going to mess with me, I’m going to mess with your kids,” Householder said in one.
“In short, you were a tyrant,” the judge said.
If federal racketeering statutes didn’t limit sentences for a single offense to 20 years, sentencing guidelines would recommend life in prison for the former House speaker, Black said. One reason is that Householder’s employ of a mountain of hidden corporate money to elect the Legislature, pass an exponentially larger corporate bailout and crush civil override is “an attack on democracy,” the judge said.
Black explained the particular harm done by public corruption like that perpetrated by Householder and his co-conspirators. To do so, he quoted former President Theodore Roosevelt, who ironically championed the citizen-initiated amendment process in Ohio that Householder’s former Republican colleagues in state government are now trying to gut.
“There is no crime more serious than bribery,” Roosevelt said in message from 1903“Other crimes violate one law, while corruption strikes at the foundations of all law.”
When Borges, the former GOP chairman, is sentenced today, it’s unclear what awaits him. His role in the conspiracy was far less than Householder’s, but Judge Black has shown he is not very easygoing when it comes to Ohio’s corrupt political culture.
It is also uncertain when — or if — other defendants will be charged.
Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice Chairman Michael Dowling — as well as former FirstEnergy Solutions President John Kiani — directed a stream of corporate dollars to Householder-controlled gloomy money groups, according to prosecutors.
And FirstEnergy admitted in a deferred prosecution agreement that it paid $4.3 million in bribes to Sam Randazzo when Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him chairman of the Public Utilities Commission. Randazzo helped craft the corrupt bailout law, according to court testimony.
On the steps of the Potter Stewart District Courthouse, just after the verdict was announced, prosecutor Kenneth Parker was asked when or if charges would be filed against the men or others.
“We’re continuing to review evidence, listen to tapes and talk to people, so if something doesn’t seem right, we’ll look there and address it,” he said.
