Records of Ohio A lawsuit concerning a bribery scheme has subpoenaed Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor.
A FirstEnergy Corp. investor lawsuit involving the $60 million bribery scheme orchestrated by the Akron-based energy giant and a now-incarcerated House speaker has Ohio’s lieutenant governor and governor involved.
Republican governor Mike DeWine was served with a subpoena for case materials dated Nov. 17, according to a copy his office gave to The Associated Press on Tuesday. Cleveland.com broke the original story. The governor’s attorneys are examining the directive, according to his spokesperson Dan Tierney.
It searches for any correspondence that DeWine may have had regarding the efforts of former House Speaker Larry Householder to obtain power, the tainted $1 billion nuclear bailout legislation that Householder supported in exchange for the bribes, or any other related topics with FirstEnergy, executives named in the lawsuit, or Sam Randazzo, the state’s former top utility regulator.
The Republican lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, was also served with a subpoena on the same day. A court filing on Monday states that Husted will provide a deposition in the case sometime between February 28 and March 19.
A representative for Husted, Hayley Carducci, said via email, “We’re aware of the civil investor lawsuit against FirstEnergy.” “Public records related to this have already been made available by the lieutenant governor, and we will continue to comply as we have in the past. Nothing new needs to be revealed.
A different, ongoing criminal case in which Householder, lobbyist Matt Borges, and two other people have been found guilty is distinct from the civil lawsuit. In 2021, a fifth man charged committed suicide. Householder received a 20-year prison sentence, while Borges was given five.
According to Tierney, there has never been a subpoena or identification of any DeWine administration official as being the subject of a criminal investigation.
Randazzo, the governor’s nominee for Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission’s powerful chairmanship, whose Columbus townhouse was searched by the FBI in November 2020, has not been cleared either.
In her capacity as commission chair, Randazzo had a great deal of influence over FirstEnergy’s and other investor-owned utilities’ financial outcomes.
He told a state Senate committee during his confirmation hearing for the position that prior to DeWine and Husted taking office on January 14, 2019, he was asked to abandon his plans to retire to Naples, Florida, where he owned a lavish waterfront home, and to rejoin the government at the utility commission.
He clarified during the confirmation hearing that those who assisted in his recruitment included DeWine’s then-chief of staff, Laurel Dawson, and Husted. The AP first revealed in December 2020 that DeWine had disregarded protests at the time from consumer and environmental advocates as well as entreaties from GOP insiders worried about Randazzo’s selection.
Husted appointed Randazzo to the Public Utilities Commission Nominating Council in 2007 while he was the speaker of the Ohio House. The two worked together to thwart mandates for renewable and alternative energy that were opposed by a coalition of utilities headed by FirstEnergy and proposed by then-Democratic Governor Ted Strickland.