7/21/20
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four cohorts were arrested on Tuesday in what prosecutors called the “largest bribery scheme" in state history. FBI agents raided Householder’s farm in Glenford, about 45 miles east of Columbus, according to Perry County Sheriff’s deputies who assisted in the operation on Tuesday morning. The 61-year-old Householder, regarded as one of the state's three most powerful lawmakers, was taken into custody and charged with racketeering conspiracy, officials said. Also arrested and charged were the speaker's adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, 44, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matthew Borges, 48, and prominent lobbyists Neil Clark, 67, and Juan Cespedes, 40, authorities said. The defendants are behind "what is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," U.S. Attorney David DeVillers told reporters. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on his fellow Republican Householder to step down and labeled Tuesday "a sad day for Ohio." "Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives," DeWine said in a statement, "therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately."
The charges are connected to House Bill 6, officials said, a bill signed into law last year that bailed out two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio to the tune of $1.5 billion. The lawmaker played a key role in passing the financial rescue, which included new fees on electricity bills in Ohio and will direct more than $150 million annually, through 2026, to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo. The center of the scheme, officials said, was the formation a tax-free non-profit called Generation Now that was supposed to be a social service organization. Instead, it was allegedly Householder's personal account, funded by an energy company, to wield political power and pass the bailout, authorities said. Generation Now was allegedly used to funnel $61 million in "dark money," DeVillers said. "Make no mistake, these allegations are bribery, pure and simple," DeVillers said. "This was a quid pro quo. This was pay to play." A representative for the Ohio GOP did not immediately return email and phone messages seeking comment on Tuesday.
