Reported by Michael Wines

The former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives was given the maximum 20-year prison sentence on Thursday for his central role in what prosecutors said was perhaps the biggest public corruption scandal in the state’s history.

The former speaker, Larry L. Householder, was convicted in March of racketeering and bribery for accepting some $60 million from a major utility holding company, FirstEnergy Corporation, in exchange for arranging a $1.3 billion bailout for two troubled nuclear power plants the company operates.

The sentence was handed down in a federal courtroom in Cincinnati after Mr. Householder, unapologetic and leaning heavily on his faith and family, presented a plea for leniency that U.S. District Judge Timothy Black rebuffed in blistering terms.

“My concern isn’t for me,” Mr. Householder told the judge. “Who pays the price? My wife, sons, family and friends.”

“I’m not buying it,” Judge Black responded. “You reap what you sow.” He added: “You were not serving the people. You were serving yourself. You were a bully in your lust for power.”

FirstEnergy, a Fortune 500 company based in Akron, admitted in 2021 that it had conspired with Mr. Householder. But Mr. Householder, 64, has steadfastly denied any guilt.

As described early this year in a 26-day trial, the alliance between the utility and Mr. Householder, 64, was far more than a bribery scandal. Among other things, prosecutors and experts say, it was an almost cinematic example of how the dark money that pervades both state and federal politics slithers unseen from donor to beneficiary.

It is also a cautionary tale about how state legislatures — second-rung political bodies that are often run by part-time politicians, but increasingly dealing with issues of national importance — are at least as prone to manipulation by special interests as their Washington counterparts.

David DeVillers, who oversaw the federal investigation as the U.S. attorney in Cincinnati until early 2021, said in an interview that the gusher of dark money was crucial to the plot and an issue well beyond Ohio.

Read full report: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/us/ohio-speaker-bribery.html