Two former executives of FirstEnergy Corp. and a former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio pleaded not guilty Feb. 13 to charges related to their alleged roles in a show-off conspiracy that led to a $1 billion bailout funded by the state of two nuclear power plants. and channeled $61 million in bribes to politicians, lobbyists and their aides.
Former FirstEnergy CEO Charles E. Jones, former Senior Vice President Michael J. Dowling and former PUCO Chairman Samuel Randazzo were indicted Feb. 12 by a Summit County grand jury for involved in a corrupt company. The three face a total of 27 counts including bribery, theft, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records and money laundering. The state’s indictment is the first time any FirstEnergy executive has been criminally charged for allegedly being involved in the case, which previously saw former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Republican Party chairman D ‘Ohio Matt Borges convicted of federal mob crimes.
The 50-page indictment alleges that Jones, Dowling and Radazzo were “literally thick as thieves. Together they would steal money from FirstEnergy, write legislative provisions worth millions of dollars of unearned FirstEnergy, legally guarantee FirstEnergy’s continued profitability and they would take over state government in a way that would allow First Energy to regulate itself.
The indictment further alleges that Randazzo “would steal money from his clients, structure financial transactions in a way that would not be detected, lie during testimony before the General Assembly, and stall a scheduled fee case before the PUCO that it would have produced. unwelcome scrutiny of FirstEnergy’s profitability and likely would have resulted in a decrease in FirstEnergy’s rates.”
The charge stems from Ohio House Bill 6, which was signed into law on July 23, 2019 and provided a $1 billion grant to keep the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants open. both former properties of Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.
FirstEnergy admitted in 2020 that it was involved in the racketeering conspiracy. FirstEnergy was a major contributor that funneled the money through a political action committee known as Generation Now, which supported Householder’s political ambitions and personal spending. The company also noted in security filings that it had paid Randazzo $4.3 million to secure his future help at the utility commission a month before he was named Ohio’s top utility regulator.
Householder was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sentenced to 20 years in prison last year in federal court in Cincinnati, while Borges, who was also a lobbyist for FirstEnergy, was found guilty of the same charge and sentenced to five years prison
Referring to the charges against Jones, Dowling and Randazzo, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) said “this indictment is about more than one law. It’s about the hostile takeover of a significant part of the government of the state of Ohio for deception, treason and dishonesty.”
Carole Rendon, Jones’ attorney, criticized the indictment.
“We are disappointed that the Ohio Attorney General and the Summit County District Attorney chose to pursue an indictment without ever speaking with Mr. Jones or his attorney or attempting to understand the full context of the one-sided information on which the accusation”. he said in a statement.
“Mr. Jones did not violate the law,” he added. “He did not bribe anyone. He acted in the best interests of FirstEnergy’s customers, as well as its employees and investors, and never betrayed their trust.”
Randozzo resigned from PUCO in November 2020 after FBI agents searched his Columbus home and after FirstEnergy indicated in security filings that it had paid him $4.3 million to secure its future aid to the commission The money was allegedly paid through Sustainability Funding Alliance, which the indictment alleges was one of two shell companies operated by Randazzo.
John McCaffrey, Dowling’s attorney, said in a statement that Dowling plans to prove his innocence at trial, particularly regarding the $4.3 million payment to the Sustainability Funding Alliance, which McCaffrey says was part of a unrelated settlement agreement.
“The allegations in this indictment are completely false and unsupported by any evidence,” McCaffrey said.
Both Dowling and Jones were fired from FirstEnergy in 2020 for violating the company’s policies and code of ethics.
“While we cannot comment on the actions of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, FirstEnergy has taken significant steps forward, including reconstituting our senior leadership team and instilling a culture of ethics, integrity and responsibility at all levels of the organization”. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said in a statement.
