Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, and four others as part of a $60 million “public corruption racketeering conspiracy.”
Authorities allege Householder created an “enterprise” that received $60 million “from an energy company and its affiliates” to help pass House Bill 6 and defeat a ballot initiative to overturn the legislation. Even though the company is not named in the complaint, it appears to refer to Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions, which announced plans to close two nuclear power plants before the bill’s passage.
Investigators also charged Mathew Borges, 48, of Bexley, a lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party Chair; longtime Householder campaign strategist Jeffrey Longstreth, 44, of Columbus; lobbyist Neil Clark, 67, of Columbus; and lobbyist Juan Cespedes, 40, of Columbus. The feds also charged Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) “social welfare entity,” as part of the alleged conspiracy.
“This is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio,” Cincinnati.com quoted U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers as saying. “This was bribery, plain and simple. This was a quid pro quo. This was pay to play.”
The five face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities say Longstreth incorporated Generation Now ostensibly to promote energy independence and economic development. However, Householder “secretly controlled” the entity and began receiving quarterly payments of $250,000 from the energy companies into Generation Now’s bank account starting in March 2017.
Generation Now supported candidates who helped elect Householder as House speaker and paid Householder campaign staff, the complaint alleges, as well as paid $15,000 to someone to provide “insider information about the ballot initiative” and to stop collecting signatures in favor of it.
Unrelated to the bill, authorities allege Householder received “more than $400,000 in personal benefits” from the entity, including money to settle a personal lawsuit, pay credit card debt and cover costs related to his residence in Florida.
A spokesperson for Householder did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, House Republican leaders said they did not believe any other state lawmakers are under investigation related to the allegations.
Gov. Mike DeWine said he was “deeply concerned” about the allegations and called the news “a sad day for Ohio.” He called on Householder to resign.
“Every American has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” DeWine said in a statement. “Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives; therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately.”
Householder was speaker from 2001 to 2004 but left due to term limits. He was reelected to the state House in 2016 and reelected speaker in 2019.
House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron, also called on Householder to resign.
“As Ohioans are grappling with a public health and economic crisis like we haven’t seen in generations, this is an unnecessary distraction from the very important business facing our citizens,” said in a statement.
“We cannot let this situation distract us from the important work that needs to get done,” Sykes added. “There’s no enjoyment in today’s news which will no doubt lead to the further deterioration of the public’s trust in our institutions.”
