A former speaker of the Ohio State House of Representatives, now serving a 20-year federal prison sentence, was indicted on 10 more state felony charges on Monday in connection with a sprawling bribery scheme that handed a $1.3 billion bailout to a major regional energy utility.
The charges against the former speaker, Larry Householder, followed an inquiry by the Ohio Organized Crime Commission that also produced indictments last month of two former executives of the Akron-based utility, FirstEnergy Corporation.
The two men — Chuck Jones, a former FirstEnergy chief executive officer, and Michael Dowling, a senior vice president — were charged with funneling $4.3 million in bribes to the former chairman of the Ohio Public Utility Commission, Sam Randazzo.
They and Mr. Randazzo, who was also indicted, have pleaded not guilty to a total of 27 charges.
The FirstEnergy case has been called the largest political scandal in Ohio history.
Persons:
Larry, Chuck Jones, Michael Dowling, —, Sam Randazzo, Randazzo
Organizations:
Ohio State House of Representatives, Ohio, Commission, FirstEnergy Corporation
Locations:
Akron, Ohio