Convicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder has been transferred to Oklahoma to begin his time in federal prison.
On June 26, the 64-year-old Republican was sentenced to 20 years for his role in a major racketeering conspiracy—the largest corruption scheme in the Buckeye State’s history.
After receiving the maximum penalty allowed under the law, Mr. Householder had been held in the Butler County Jail in southwestern Ohio. According to Bureau of Prisons records, he was recently moved to the federal transfer center in Oklahoma City.
His attorney, Steven Bradley, said Mr. Householder was not granted a request to be released during his appeal.
Mr. Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, were convicted in March of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering.
$60 Million Bribery Scheme
A jury found Mr. Householder masterminded, and Mr. Borges participated in a $60 million bribery scheme secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to establish Mr. Householder’s power and elect his allies.
In return, Mr. Householder and his allies passed House Bill 6 in May 2019, a legislation that granted a $1 billion bailout for two aging nuclear plants owned by an affiliate of FirstEnergy that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2018.
The convicted later thwarted a ballot effort to overturn the bill.
Mr. Household and four accomplices were arrested in July 2020.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeViller told the press in August 2020, that “These allegations are bribery, pure and simple. This was a quid pro quo; this was a pay-to-play.”
Pleading Guilty
In the course of the court proceedings, FirstEnergy admitted to its role, and two political operatives, Juan Cespedes, 41, and Jeff Longstreth, 44, pleaded guilty, as did the dark money group.
One accused suspect, Neil Clark, a 67-year-old Ohio lobbyist, was found dead in Collier County, Florida, in March 2021. His death was ruled a suicide.
Mr. Borges, 51, was sentenced to five years, which he is serving at the federal prison in Milan, Michigan, near Ann Arbor, bureau records show.
The trial lasted for six weeks.
“The court and the community’s patience with Larry Householder has expired,” the judge said in issuing the maximum sentence, referring to the defendant as “a bully with a lust for power” whose actions constituted an “assault on democracy, the betrayal of everyone in Ohio.”
Mr. Cespedes and Mr. Longstreth are both cooperating with authorities in continuing investigations into the bribery scheme.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
