Eleven years to the day that former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora was convicted of racketeering, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was found guilty of racketeering. Prosecutors say the case is the largest public corruption scheme in Ohio history, a cash-for-legislation scam that personally enriched five conspirators and propped up FirstEnergy’s struggling nuclear operation on the backs of all Ohio electric customers. The guilty verdicts for both Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges – both of whom face 20 years in prison – serve as a rebuke against companies seeking to influence state politics and the politicians who execute creative means to push the limits of campaign finance laws, prosecutors said. The racketeering charge required prosecutors to prove Householder led a team on a pattern of illegal conduct such as wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering. Borges also was convicted of racketeering for his role in bribing an opposing political operative for inside information. - Laura |
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Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, wearing hat, speaks to reporters Thursday outside the federal courthouse in Cincinnati after he was convicted of racketeering. He's flanked by his attorneys, Rob Glickman, left, and Steven Bradley. (Jake Zuckerman, cleveland.com) |
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Householder verdict: A jury convicted ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges of taking part in a bribery scheme prosecutors say was engineered to pass a $1.3 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants owned by a subsidiary of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp., reports Jake Zuckerman. Householder reaction: News of ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s conviction brought silence from some of the state’s top Republican leaders, including Gov. Mike DeWine, reports Jeremy Pelzer. Other Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, said they hoped the guilty verdicts would serve as a warning to other public officials not to engage in corruption. Democrats said more work still needs to be done to root out corruption in Ohio politics. Testimony: Experts say one big reason ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was convicted of political corruption on Thursday was because his testimony in the case backfired on him, reports Jeremy Pelzer. During Householder’s cross-examination, the prosecution found contradictions in his testimony – including by showing evidence that, contrary to his testimony, he met with FirstEnergy executives at a swanky Washington, D.C., steakhouse in 2017. Today in Ohio: A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted 11 current and former East Cleveland police officers on charges of brutally pummeling, stomping and harassing residents. We’re talking about the department on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s half-hour news podcast. |
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Voter registration: In Ohio, voters can be removed from the rolls after six years of inactivity. Want to make sure you are still registered to vote even if you haven’t cast a ballot for a while? You can update your voter registration while renewing your driver’s license, reports Sabrina Eaton. Insurance scam: The Ohio Department of Insurance is warning about a scheme in which uninsured people attempt to get coverage after car crashes or property damage by manipulating paperwork to make it look as if they had insurance when the incident occurred, reports Laura Hancock. Norfolk Southern: Norfolk Southern’s president and CEO on Thursday assured a U.S. Senate committee that the railroad will stay in East Palestine, Ohio, as long as it takes for the community to “thrive and recover” from the disaster, reports Sabrina Eaton. Both of Ohio’s U.S. Senators urged passage of the legislation to require well-trained, two-person crews aboard every train, substantially increase maximum fines the U.S. Department of Transportation can issue for safety violations, and expand HAZMAT training grants for local first responders by increasing fees assessed to railroads. Sextortion: Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is asking the state legislature to pass a requirement that social media companies verify that parents have allowed their children to create accounts on those platforms to curb the rising trend of “sextortion” of teens. Laura Hancock reports the U.S. had 3,000 sextortion victims in 2022 and more than a dozen cases of sextortion have been linked to the victims dying by suicide. |
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RTA board: Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb on Thursday named Calley Mersmann, a regular user of public transportation who serves as the city’s senior strategist of transit and mobility, and Jeffrey Weston Sleasman, a longtime transit rider who is the chief executive of a consumer goods startup, to the board of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Courtney Astolfi reports. |
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Stadium golf: FirstEnergy Stadium will host Upper Deck Golf in June, with a chance to play a modified round of golf inside the stadium, reports Marc Bona. TRW: The Cleveland Clinic is looking to make the former TRW headquarters more appealing to developers by demolishing the structure, reports Megan Sims. The 480,000-square-foot, two-floor building sits in a secluded area off Richmond Road in the shadows of the Legacy Village shopping center. Weekly COVID: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio dipped this week to to 8,332, from 9,325 last week. This marked the first drop in weekly case reports since mid-January, reports Julie Washington. |
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Suspect arrested: A man accused of murder in Garfield Heights was arrested Thursday in Cleveland, reports Olivia Mitchell. Police say Travis Hicks, 32, killed Ronnie Briggs in September at the Showcase Bar and Grille after the two men had argued. Wire fraud: Romeo Travis, the former basketball star at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and University of Akron, is accused of falsely reporting his income to the IRS from his time playing professional basketball overseas. Adam Ferrise reports Travis, 39, used contracts altered by his agent to avoid paying taxes and child support, according to federal prosecutors. Bartender assault: An arrest warrant is out for a Cleveland man accused of slamming a barstool into the head of a West Side bartender at closing time, knocking her briefly unconscious. John Tucker reports that Tyerez Simon, a patron at Izzo’s Café in the city’s West Boulevard neighborhood, has been charged with felonious assault. |
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MAC Tournament: Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher tells Marc Bona that a “host of things” have converged to make Cleveland a good fit to host the league's men’s and women’s basketball tournaments since 2000. The tournament generates $6 million a year and currently is underway at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Jake Paul: Jake Paul and Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a bit of an altercation outside of Miami-Dade Arena on Wednesday night as Paul was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers-Miami Heat game. The confrontation of sorts happened when Paul ran into Mayweather’s entourage, reports Marc Bona. Costa Rica: On her first visit, Susan Glaser found it easy to understand why Costa Rica, spectacularly beautiful and easy to visit, is so popular. When they weren’t in the water, they were sweating it out – hiking through a steamy rainforest, ziplining down a mountaintop. You can drink the water, there’s no jet lag and nearly everyone speaks English. You don’t even have to exchange money if you don’t want to. WonderBus: The Wonderbus Music and Arts Festival announced its lineup for the 2023 edition, with rapper Pitbull headlining on Friday, pop star Demi Lovato on Saturday and Columbus-based alternative folk-rockers Caamp closing out Sunday. The three-day festival is Aug. 25 to 27 at The Lawn at CAS in Columbus, Malcolm X Abram reports. Things to do: Daylight Saving Time arrives Sunday, even if the forecast doesn’t look very springy. Joey Morona lists 17 things to do this weekend, including the MAC men's and women's basketball tournament and "Aladdin" at Playhouse Square. |
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Lorain woman arranged rape of 2 teen girls, gets at least 15 years in prison Read more Ohio college student fights off armed home intruder, but suspect shoots dog on way out Read more Teens arrested after police recover firearm magazines at the Northern Career Institute in Willoughby Read more Orange mayor discusses village’s special qualities in NPR interview Read more Akron City Council confirms 8 people for Citizens’ Police Oversight Board Read more Akron cracks down on illegal tire dumping with fines, jail time Read more Chagrin Falls Schools adds cameras to buses, hopefully drivers to its staff Read more |
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