Ex-Ohio House Speaker and former Ohio GOP leader found guilty in $61 million bribery scheme
A federal jury found both former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges guilty of conspiracy to sabotage Thursday – a dramatic outcome in the biggest public corruption case in the state’s history.
The guilty verdict marks the end of Householder’s long political career, during which he twice held the Speaker’s gavel. He will be in the Ohio history books as the only speaker suspended from the Legislature and subsequently convicted in a federal corruption case.
Householder and Borges, who neither showed emotion when the verdict was read out, risk up to 20 years in prison. After a seven-week trial, jurors deliberated just nine hours over two days.
The case came to federal court because of its sheer scale: $61 million in bribes paid by FirstEnergy Corp. via dark money groups to help Householder seize political power and in turn pass and defend a $1.3 billion bailout bill known as House Bill 6.
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“This is not typical political activity and they know it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Painter said during closing statements at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse in Cincinnati. “Mr Householder abused that (public) trust and Mr Borges helped him do it.”
After the verdict, United States Attorney Kenneth Parker said the case shows that even powerful state leaders will be held accountable. “You can’t sell the public’s trust. It’s not for sale.”
“This is a great victory for all Ohioans,” Parker said. He declined to answer questions about whether more charges may be forthcoming.
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Borges lobbied for House Bill 6 and worked to block a referendum to put it on the 2019 ballot. He paid a $15,000 bribe to get insider information about the referendum.
Borges, who had an ethics conviction expunged more than a decade ago, turned down a chance to sign a guilty plea that could have earned him no more than six months in prison. Borges said after the verdict that he did not regret that choice.
“I don’t think I would have told the truth (by pleading),” Borges said. Husmand never got such an offer.
Prosecutors introduced nearly 900 exhibits into evidence, wading through reams of text messages, emails, bank records and more that demonstrated what the men knew and what they did.
Two key players, former FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes and Householder policy adviser Jeff Longstreth, took plea deals and testified against them.
A fifth defendant, lobbyist Neil Clark, died by suicide in March 2021 following his arrest.
Prosecutors also played secretly recorded phone calls and meetings captured by the FBI. Clark came on their radar while investigating a separate corruption case. Later, undercover agents posing as real estate developers with interests in sports betting hired Clark as their lobbyist. Clark led them to Householder.
Investigators tapped Clark’s phone, but did not tap Householder’s or Borges’ phones.
Another big breakthrough came when Tyler Fehrman called the FBI in 2019 to report that Borges offered him a bribe in exchange for insider information about the referendum campaign. Fehrman, who considered Borges a friend and mentor, carried a lead in subsequent meetings with him.
Husmand took the stand in his own defense
When Householder appeared for the first day of the trial, he held a press conference and told State House reporters that the truth would come out.
Six weeks into the trial, he got a chance to have his say when he took the stand in his own defense.
Householder, 63, said he returned to politics to try to quell divisiveness, had no control over the dark money group Generation Now, did not attend key events with FirstEnergy executives and had every intention of paying Longstreth back for a ” loan.”
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The next day, he endured a skilled cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter, during which she dismantled many of his claims.
Borges, 50, chose not to take the stand and presented no defense witnesses. Instead, his legal team tried to draw jurors’ attention to times when Borges’ name did not appear in meetings, documents or plans.
But in the end, the jury decided that wasn’t enough for reasonable doubt.
What’s next?
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black will judge Householder and Borges in the coming months. Householder vowed to appeal his sentence. They were not taken into custody. Black allowed both men to remain out on bond.
“This is just step one …. Stay tuned,” Householder told reporters after the verdict. He said he respects the jury’s decision but does not agree with it.
“I will keep fighting,” Borges said. – As far as I’m concerned, I’m not done fighting.
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Borges also plans to appeal.
The US Department of Justice could arrest others whose names were featured in the seven-week corruption trial. In July 2021, FirstEnergy admitted that it bribed Householder and top utility regulator Sam Randazzo and agreed to pay a fine of 230 million dollars.
So far, neither Randazzo nor executives from FirstEnergy or FirstEnergy Solutions, now called Energy Harbor, have been charged with any crime.
Follow journalists Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff on Twitter at @lbischoff and @jbalmert.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Larry Householder, Matt Borges Found Guilty in $61M Corruption Case
