Prosecutors: Corrupt plot to pass Ohio nuclear bailout followed meeting at ‘fancy’ Washington, D.C., steakhouse

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The plan that eventually became the corrupt scheme to pass the House Bill 6 nuclear bailout legislation followed a meal at a “fancy Washington, D.C. steakhouse” in January 2017, federal prosecutors said Monday in a Cincinnati courtroom.

Emily Glatfelter, the lead federal prosecutor in the case, told jurors that ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder flew on Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.’s private jet to Washington in January 2017. While Glatfelter didn’t mention the specific backdrop for the trip, Householder, who had just been elected to the Ohio House a couple months before, flew there with top FirstEnergy executives, including then-CEO Chuck Jones, for then-President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Glatfelter returned to the steakhouse meeting several times Monday during her opening arguments for Householder’s federal corruption charge, portraying it as a key event in the plot that eventually led Householder to appear in court. She described it each time as a “fancy” restaurant, describing the process through which Householder used tens of millions of dollars from FirstEnergy to build his political operation.

“They sat down and they discussed Householder’s speaker plans, his financial needs and then to assess what FirstEnergy needed,” Glatfelter said. “FirstEnergy needed a bailout. They needed a legislative fix. FirstEnergy executives knew the current speaker of the House at the time, in 2017, wasn’t interested in giving them legislative help. And they said it was important for that reason that Householder become speaker.”

Joining Householder on the corporate jet was Jones and Tony George, a Cleveland businessman whom Glatfelter described as a “mutual associate” of Householder and Jones. Householder at the time had just been reelected to the Ohio House but was making plans to become speaker of the Ohio House two years later.

Another top FirstEnergy executive, Mike Dowling, joined them at the dinner, as did Jeff Longstreth, who at the time was Householder’s political manager and right-hand man, Glatfelter said. Longstreth flew coach though, and met them there, according to Glatfelter.

“They talked about ways to fund his [Householder’s] efforts. But one [FirstEnergy’s] executives made clear that the money had to be non-disclosable,” Glatfelter said.

Glatfelter said Householder and the FirstEnergy executives met at several more “fancy” Washington, D.C., restaurants during their trip that weekend. Householder then flew back to Ohio on the FirstEnergy corporate jet with the company executives, she said.

Householder and company executives’ actions following the Washington, D.C., trip “demonstrated the contours of their corrupt deal,” Glatfelter said.

Read more stories about the trial here.

Federal prosecutors wrapped up their opening statement Monday morning in the first day of what’s expected to be a six-week trial. Lawyers for Householder and his co-defendant, former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, are scheduled to give their own opening arguments around 1 p.m.

Glatfelter did not mention George, a politically active businessman who supported Householder’s run for speaker, again during her opening statement. But George previously has come up in House Bill 6 scandal, with court records portraying him as a go-between for FirstEnergy officials and Householder.

A Public Utilities Commission of Ohio audit released last year also outlined a longtime financial relationship between George and FirstEnergy, showing the Akron-based utility gave a dozen entities linked to George $10.7 million in payments.

While the audit didn’t implicate George in any way, it linked the bar and restaurant owner to a company ensnared in what federal authorities say is one of the most significant federal corruption investigations in state history.

Weeks after the trip to Washington, D.C., Longstreth filed paperwork to form Generation Now, a dark-money political nonprofit that was used to secretly funnel millions of dollars from FirstEnergy to pay for Householder’s political operation, Glatfelter said.

The operation first helped him get elected as Ohio House speaker, then helped push for House Bill 6 and defend it against a repeal effort, and finally helped Householder push for a ballot issue that would have changed term limits to allow Householder to remain in his position for 16 years.

Glatfelter told jurors the money paid the salaries of two former Householder political aides who will testify against Householder and his co-defendant, former lobbyist Matt Borges: Anna Lippincott and Megan Fitzmartin.

But neither attended the meeting in Washington, D.C., Glatfelter said, using it to distinguish between people who may have done work for Householder and those who knew about what prosecutors have described as the larger criminal plot.

“While these people worked alongside them, and their names were on a lot of documents and communication, they didn’t attend the trip to Washington D.C.,” Glatfelter said.

Andrew Tobias covers state government and politics for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read more of his work here.