COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues were arrested by federal officials Tuesday as part of a bribery investigation involving the state’s billion dollar nuclear plant bailout and Householder’s maneuverings to secure support to lead the legislative chamber.
Householder, 61, of Glenford, is charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy involving the funneling of energy company funds through Generation Now, a dark money group formed by a longtime associate, with some proceeds used to back the campaigns of legislative candidates supportive of Householder’s run for speaker.
The felony carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Also arrested Tuesday as part of the alleged conspiracy were:
+ Matt Borges, 48, of Bexley, the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and a lobbyist.
+ Jeffrey Longstreth, 44, of Columbus, a longtime campaign and political strategist for Householder.
+ Neil Clark, 67, of Columbus, a lobbyist who owns Grant Street Consultants.
+ Juan Cespedes, 40, of Columbus, a lobbyist.
Generation Now also was charged.
The five men made their initial appearance electronically in federal court early Tuesday afternoon. They were released from custody afterward, with travel restrictions and prohibitions on contact with others involved in the case.
Agents made the arrests of Householder, Borges and Clark this morning at their residences. It is unclear where the arrests of Longstreth and Cespedes took place.
The arrests come after a nearly two-year investigation into bribes and money laundering by the FBI, according to a federal investigator involved in the arrests.
The millions paid were akin to bags of cash — they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny. FBI documents
Documents unsealed Tuesday afternoon did not specifically name energy companies involved, though they noted that “Company A entities paid Householder’s enterprise $60,886,835.86 in secret payments over the approximately three-year period in exchange for the billion-dollar-bailout. The enterprise concealed the payments … to receive the bribe money and then transferring the payments internally to a web of related entities and accounts.”
Documents added, “The millions paid into the entity were akin to bags of cash — unlike campaign or PAC contributions, they were not regulated, not reported, not subject to public scrutiny — and the enterprise freely spent the bribe payments to further the enterprise’s political interests and to enrich themselves.”
The investigation included dinners and meetings between undercover federal agents and Householder and Clark where the men made incriminating statements about illegal activity and bribes.
The investigator said more arrests connected to the investigation are expected.
