Prosecutors: Householder’s racketeering charge in House Bill 6 stands
Lead Summary
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Federal prosecutors today rejected former Ohio Republican House Speaker Larry Householder’s claims that millions of dollars related to the passage of House Bill 6 were campaign contributions.
According to a report by John Caniglia at cleveland.com, "In a filing in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, prosecutors urged Judge Timothy Black to deny Householder’s request to dismiss his racketeering case. Prosecutors said his arguments about the payments were meritless. They argued that Householder engineered the $60 million bribery scheme involving FirstEnergy Corp. and a nonprofit that he and his associates used as a 'slush fund,' according to the filings."
As reported on July 22, 2020, Householder was arrested on July 21, 2020 and charged in a federal racketeering conspiracy involving approximately $60 million paid to a 501(c)(4) entity to pass and uphold a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.
Four other individuals were also arrested and charged. They include:
• Mathew Borges of Bexley, a lobbyist who previously served as chair of the Ohio Republican Party;
• Jeffrey Longstreth of Columbus, Householder’s longtime campaign and political strategist;
• Neil Clark of Columbus, a lobbyist who owns and operates Grant Street Consultants and previously served as budget director for the Ohio Republican Caucus; and
• Juan Cespedes of Columbus, a multi-client lobbyist.
Generation Now, a corporate entity registered as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, was also charged.
Clark was found dead of an alleged suicide in Collier County, Fla. in March 2021. He had pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Litkovitz on Aug. 6, 2020.
Longstreth and Cespedes each entered guilty pleas, as did Generation Now.
Read the complaint: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6999130/Ohio-House-complaint.pdf.
According to a report by John Caniglia at cleveland.com, "In a filing in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, prosecutors urged Judge Timothy Black to deny Householder’s request to dismiss his racketeering case. Prosecutors said his arguments about the payments were meritless. They argued that Householder engineered the $60 million bribery scheme involving FirstEnergy Corp. and a nonprofit that he and his associates used as a 'slush fund,' according to the filings."
As reported on July 22, 2020, Householder was arrested on July 21, 2020 and charged in a federal racketeering conspiracy involving approximately $60 million paid to a 501(c)(4) entity to pass and uphold a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.
Four other individuals were also arrested and charged. They include:
• Mathew Borges of Bexley, a lobbyist who previously served as chair of the Ohio Republican Party;
• Jeffrey Longstreth of Columbus, Householder’s longtime campaign and political strategist;
• Neil Clark of Columbus, a lobbyist who owns and operates Grant Street Consultants and previously served as budget director for the Ohio Republican Caucus; and
• Juan Cespedes of Columbus, a multi-client lobbyist.
Generation Now, a corporate entity registered as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, was also charged.
Clark was found dead of an alleged suicide in Collier County, Fla. in March 2021. He had pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Litkovitz on Aug. 6, 2020.
Longstreth and Cespedes each entered guilty pleas, as did Generation Now.
Read the complaint: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6999130/Ohio-House-complaint.pdf.