Court upholds racketeering convictions of ex-Ohio House speaker and lobbyist in $60M bribery scheme

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal appeals court upheld the racketeering convictions of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and an ex-lobbyist on Tuesday in a $60 million bribery scandal described as the largest corruption scheme in state history.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati represented a win for the Department of Justice, which had secured the convictions in March 2023 after a yearslong investigation. Householder, a Republican, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party chair Matt Borges was sentenced to five years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris said the appeals panel's unanimous decision ''affirmed the strength of the government's evidence, the correctness of the jury instructions, and the fairness of the proceeding.''

Householder was convicted of masterminding a $60 million bribery scheme funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to elect allies, secure power, pass a $1 billion bailout of two of its affiliated nuclear plants and then defend the bill, known as House Bill 6, from a repeal effort.

Prosecutors had described Borges' primary role in the scheme as working to thwart a ballot campaign aimed at repealing the tainted legislation. Specifically, he was accused of paying $15,000 to someone who was helping spearhead the effort in order to get inside information. The referendum ultimately failed to make the ballot.

Scott Pullins, a long-time legal and personal adviser to Householder, called it a ''sad and disappointing day'' for both men and their families and supporters, and ''even a sadder day for constitutional free speech and the rule of law.''

He said in a Substack post that Householder "raised undisclosed, unlimited donations for a 501c4 organization that supported him and his political allies'' — just as speakers before and after him have done. ''But the federal government singled only Mr. Householder out for prosecution.''

Householder has a couple long shot legal options remaining: He could ask for a review by the full Sixth Circuit, or seek what's known as certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping for consideration by the nation's highest bench. Both types of requests are rarely granted.

A message seeking comment was left for Householder's criminal defense attorney.

Householder's appeal failed on all six claims he brought in hopes of a reprieve. He alleged erroneous jury instructions, insufficient and inadmissible evidence, violations of his right to counsel, judicial bias and that his sentence was unreasonable for the circumstances.

The 65-year-old Householder argued that the government was wrong in describing what he had engaged in as a bribery scheme. Instead, he cast the money that flowed from FirstEnergy into a network of secret dark money accounts that he controlled as legal campaign contributions. Federal prosecutors charged that the money was given to Householder in exchange for the passage of House Bill 6, providing the necessary quid pro quo to make his conduct illegal.

Householder had also faulted U.S. District Judge Timothy Black in his appeal, asserting that he failed to properly instruct the jury that an agreement is necessary to prove bribery and that Householder needed to have agreed he would take action ''on a specific and focused question or matter'' at the time that agreement was struck.

The judicial panel said all of his claims failed.

Borges' appeal hinged on three technical points of law. All failed, as well, though he could also ask for review by the full appellate court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

However, Circuit Judge Amul Thapar wrote in a concurring opinion that each of Borges' contentions ''raises tricky and unresolved issues in honest services fraud jurisprudence.''

''And here, Borges has a good argument his conduct fell within a murky middle: perhaps objectionable, but not clearly illegal,'' he wrote. ''Until the Supreme Court revises its caselaw, however, we must follow its precedent.''

Dennis Belli, Borges' attorney, noted a part of Thapar's concurrence that said "(t)he Tinkerbell strategy — clap if you believe he's guilty — doesn't cut it when we think about criminal convictions.''

'''Tinkerbell strategy' aptly describes the prosecution's use of an alleged violation of a misdemeanor statute in the Ohio Elections Code to obtain a felony racketeering conviction of Borges in federal court,'' Belli said, noting that his client denies that the statute even applies to his conduct. ''I will be studying the 64-page ruling closely and thoughtfully, and will advise my client regarding his options going forward.''

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Bruce Shipkowski contributed to this report from Toms River, N.J.