COLUMBUS, OHIO — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday that a grand jury has re-indicted two fired FirstEnergy Corp. executives. Initial prosecutions In the country in the long term $60 million bribery scandal Ended in Mistrial Earlier this year.
Yost, a Republican, joined Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kulkovich in detailing 22 new criminal charges against Charles “Chuck” Jones, the former CEO of the Akron-based energy giant, and Michael Dowling, once a top lobbyist.
“The roots of this complex case have not changed — FirstEnergy was hijacked by two conspiring executives who sought to control the regulator that affected the company’s stock prices,” Yost said in a statement. “I am confident that Ohio taxpayers will receive justice when the facts are revealed in the courtroom.”
The two men face one count each of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, bribery, conspiracy and tampering with evidence, in addition to two counts of communications fraud. Additionally, Jones was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, while Dowling was charged with an additional 14 counts of tampering with records.
The new indictments come as the legal teams for both Jones and Dowling seek acquittals from Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross after presenting evidence in court. Six-week trial in Akron In March, it failed to reach consensus among jurors who deliberated for nine days.
The case revolved around A Payment of $4.3 million Provided by FirstEnergy to veteran attorney and lobbyist Sam Randazzo In 2019, shortly before he was appointed the state’s top utility regulator. Prosecutors claimed so Jones Dowling played roles in organizing the massive payment to Randazzo for Regulatory and legislative advantages He later turned over the company as Chairman of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission. This included helping to draft and introduce House Bill 6, legislation that includes a $1 billion bailout for FirstEnergy’s two aging nuclear plants.
They both were Launched in October 2020 For violating FirstEnergy policies and Code of Conduct.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder serves The prison sentence is 20 years For orchestrating a FirstEnergy-funded scheme to secure power, elect allies and pass the bill, and then to run a dirty tricks campaign against repeal efforts. Four others were charged in the scheme, one of them… He was sentenced to five years To help thwart the repeal, one person died by suicide after pleading not guilty and two are awaiting sentencing while cooperating in the investigation.
Randazzo too He died by suicide While facing state and federal charges. A major sticking point in the trial was whether he qualified as a public employee at the time of the alleged bribery. The $4.3 million was paid before Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed him president of the PUCO. Republican US Senator and former Governor Jon Husted, who is running to retain his seat this fall, He testified at the trial that Jones and Dowling were still pushing at the time for a different person to get the job.
Yost said Thursday that investigators have new information this time.
“The new indictment includes certain additional facts that were not known to us at the time of the first indictment and of which we became aware due to a civil lawsuit against FirstEnergy,” he said in a video message. Both DeWine and Husted, who have not been accused of wrongdoing, were Subpoenas served In this separate work.
The indictment asserts that as part of a criminal enterprise, Jones and Dowling executed a large-scale, covert scheme between 2010 and 2021 to bribe state officials and illegally advance FirstEnergy’s financial interests alongside their own. They are accused of working in concert to “steal government power and bend it to the will of FirstEnergy” and then conceal the scheme through false ethics revelations.
Through his legal team, Dowling said the new indictment repeats many of the same charges as the first and relies on additional information that the judge directly excluded during trial, including specific criminal violations alleged against Jones and Dowling that she dismissed.
The release notes that “the timing of the new indictment comes within days of Attorney General Dave Yost leaving office on Monday,” and immediately before oral arguments on Dowling’s and Jones’ post-verdict pleas, which were scheduled for Friday.
Yost is time limited and was Effectively forced out From last year’s governor’s race GOP support rally About biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. He announced in May that he would resign six months before the end of his term to take an executive position at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal think tank. Public Safety Director Andy Wilson has been appointed interim prosecutor until January.