Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder pled not guilty on Friday to allegations of misappropriating his campaign funds to cover legal fees related to the notorious bribery scandal that resulted in his 20-year prison sentence.
Accusations of Misusing Campaign Funds
Householder, appearing remotely from federal prison, is accused of improperly using over $750,000 in campaign donations for his legal fees stemming from prior criminal proceedings in Ohio federal court. According to a Friday journal entry from Judge Emily Hagan of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Householder appeared with counsel via Zoom and pled not guilty to the state-level charges against him.
Ohio’s Jailed Ex-Speaker : Indictment Details
In March, an Ohio grand jury indicted Householder on 10 counts, including aggravated theft, theft in office, money laundering, telecommunications fraud, and tampering with records. The indictment alleges he used campaign funds from Citizens for Larry Householder to pay legal fees in the federal case brought by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Yost accused the ex-speaker of accepting $60 million in bribes to aid FirstEnergy Corp. with its nuclear power losses.
Ohio’s Jailed Ex-Speaker : Ongoing Legal Battles
While contesting the new charges, Ohio’s jailed ex-speaker is also appealing his 20-year federal prison sentence. He received this sentence for orchestrating a $1.3 billion taxpayer-funded bailout of FirstEnergy’s nuclear energy program, which was part of his bribery scheme with other state officials and FirstEnergy executives.
