Global Courant
Larry Householder, the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, was implicated in the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. On June 29, 2023, U.S. District Judge Timothy sentenced Black Householder to 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under the law. The housekeeper told the judge that the sentence would not hurt him, but his wife and grandchildren. The judge responded with evidence that went against the family man image Householder was trying to present.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the largest corruption scandal in the state’s history and was immediately taken into custody, a judge stating that “the patience of the court and the community with Larry Householder has been used up”.
The 64-year-old Republican froze only slightly as U.S. District Judge Timothy Black handed down the sentence, the maximum sentence under the law, and seemed somewhat disoriented when U.S. Marshals handcuffed him. He glanced briefly at his wife, Taundra, who was leaving the courtroom with his Perry County Ducks Unlimited ball cap folded in her hands.
Prior to his sentencing, Householder stood before Black to make a personal appeal for clemency, saying that it was not himself that would hurt himself the most, but his wife of 40 years, his sons, grandchildren and friends.
“I wasn’t hungry for power. I was going home,” he said of leaving the Ohio House between speakers. Housekeeper told the judge that he and his wife had “given every ounce of energy to make the lives of others better.”
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In a blistering rebuke, Black threw back the householder’s evidence that conflicted with the householder image he had presented. He quoted Householder’s own statements, presented at the trial, saying, “If you’re going to fuck me, I’m going to fuck your kids,” “we can fuck him later,” and “f—him until he’s dead. “
Black called Householder “a power-hungry bully” whose plan marked an “attack on democracy, the betrayal of everyone in Ohio.” That included the Ohioans who donated to, campaigned for and voted for Householder, the judge said.
“That wasn’t their way of just saying I like you or I support you. What they said is I choose to trust you,” said Black. “They trusted you to do them good, and you betrayed their trust.”
Housekeeper and lobbyist Matt Borges, former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, were both convicted of one charge of racketeering in March, after a six-week trial. Borges will be sentenced on Friday.
Jurors found that Householder orchestrated and Borges participated in a $60 million bribery scheme secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to secure Householder’s power, choose his allies, pass legislation with a $1 billion bailout for two obsolete nuclear power plants owned by a FirstEnergy affiliate, and then use a dirty trick campaign to create a attempt to suppress the vote to overturn the bill.
Federal prosecutors had recommended Householder get 16 to 20 years, in a memo stating that he “acted like the quintessential mob boss, running the criminal enterprise from the shadows and using his casket bearers to carry out the plan.” That strategy, they said, gave Householder “plausible deniability”.
Kenneth Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, addresses reporters outside a Cincinnati courthouse on June 29, 2023, following the sentencing of former Ohio spokesman Larry Householder. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)
His own lawyers had recommended just 12 to 18 months, reporting to the judge that he is “a broken man” who has been “humiliated and disgraced” by the ordeal of his widespread arrest, high-profile prosecution and seven-week trial by jury .
Ken Parker, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said outside the courthouse on Thursday that the government was grateful for the judge’s verdict.
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“We heard Mr. Householder indicate that he keeps a close eye on his faith, his family, and his friends. I would have added one more: he must keep the people of Ohio close, if he is to serve this state. That is what he left out,” Parker said. “That’s why he was here today and that’s why the judge imposed the highest level of accountability under the law.”
Rachel Belz, CEO of the government watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, expressed hope that Householder’s sentence would help restore public confidence and ensure that the voice of the people is “heard and valued” by decision-makers.
“Democracy does not allow our leaders to wield power without the ability of the people to control that power,” she said in a statement.
Householder was one of Ohio’s most powerful politicians, a historic twice-elected speaker, before his indictment. After his arrest in July 2020, the Republican-controlled House removed him from his leadership position, but he refused to step down for nearly a year because he was innocent until proven guilty. In a bipartisan vote, representatives finally expelled him from the chamber in 2021 — Ohio’s first such eviction in 150 years.
All told, five people and a dark money group have been charged so far for their role in the scheme. A federal investigation is still ongoing.
During the trial, the prosecution called two of the arrested people – Juan Cespedes and Jeff Longstreth, both of whom pleaded guilty and cooperated – to testify about political contributions they said were not ordinary, but rather bribes intended to secure the passage of the bailout legislation. to set. Generation Now, the 501(c) nonprofit through which much of the money flowed, also pleaded guilty to racketeering.
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Cespedes and Longstreth each face up to six months in prison under their plea deals. Neither has been convicted.
The last person arrested, the late Statehouse super-lobbyist Neil Clark, was heard on tape in court. Clark had pleaded not guilty before committing suicide in March 2021.
All of the alleged members of the conspiracy personally benefited from the plan, using amounts that one FBI agent popularly described as “bags of money” from FirstEnergy. Householder spent about $500,000 in FirstEnergy money to settle a business lawsuit, pay attorneys, cover expenses at his Florida home, and pay off credit card debt. Another $97,000 was used to pay staff and expenses for his 2018 reelection campaign.
