Former Republican Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder just received a 20-year prison sentence for the largest bribery scheme in the state's history. Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges was also convicted in the $60 million bribery scheme.
NBC News reports:
A jury in Cincinnati found the two guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering, after about 9-1/2 half hours of deliberations over two days.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said the government's prosecution team showed that "Householder sold the Statehouse, and thus he ultimately betrayed the people of the great state of Ohio he was elected to serve." He called Borges "a willing co-conspirator."
"Through its verdict today, the jury reaffirmed that the illegal acts committed by both men will not be tolerated and that they should be held accountable," Parker said.
It doesn't get swampier than this:
Prosecutors alleged that Householder orchestrated a scheme secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to secure his power in the Legislature, elect his allies — and then to pass and defend a $1 billion nuclear power plant bailout benefiting the electric utility. They alleged that Borges, then a lobbyist, sought to bribe an operative for inside information on the referendum to overturn the bailout.
He seems so nice, though:
Jurors also heard taped phone calls in which Householder and another co-defendant, the late Statehouse superlobbyist Neil Clark, plotted a nasty attack ad — and, in expletive-laced fashion, contemplated revenge against lawmakers who had crossed Householder.
At one point, Householder also served as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. And he was caught on audio threatening a rival's kid.
"Beyond financial greed, I think you just liked power," U.S. District Judge Timothy Black said. "You weren't serving the people. You were serving yourself."
Once the most powerful Republicans in the state, Borges and Householder will now have to eat stale bologna sandwiches in prison. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Householder expressed no remorse but focused on the harm a prison sentence would impose on his relatives and loved ones. "I would give my life in a heartbeat for my wife and any of my sons," he said.
Should have thought about that before, bub.
He was immediately taken into custody.
