Former state House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history.
Attorneys for Householder and Borges did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.
They alleged that Borges, then a lobbyist, sought to bribe an operative for inside information on the referendum to overturn the bailout.
Then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder sits at the head of a legislative session in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2019.
Householder testified that he never retaliated against those who voted counter to his wishes or who donated to his rivals.
Under a deal to avoid prosecution, FirstEnergy admitted using a network of dark money groups to fund the scheme and even bribing the state's top utility regulator, Sam Randazzo.
Randazzo resigned as chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio after an FBI search of his home, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. »
