CINCINNATI — A federal judge delivered a blistering rebuke, a maximum 20-year prison sentence, and a U.S. Marshals' escort out of the courtroom for Larry Householder, who was once one of the most powerful lawmakers in Ohio. He was booked into the Butler County Jail late Friday.
"The court and the community's patience with Larry Householder has expired," U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black said before ordering Householder to be removed from the Cincinnati courthouse and taken to prison.
Householder, age 64, had asked for 12 to 18 months in prison, so he could return to his Perry County farm and live out his remaining years with his wife, Taundra, his five sons and his grandchildren.
But there was no sympathy from Black, who delivered a scathing speech to the former Ohio House speaker who a jury had convicted in the largest public corruption scheme in state history.
"The bottom line is you were a bully with a lust for power who thought he was above everyone else," Black said. "You conned the people of Ohio and then you tried to con the jury too.”
“In the end, we reap what we sow. We sleep in the bed we make," Black said, before ordering the U.S. Marshals to take Householder into custody, which is highly unusual in a white-collar criminal case.
Householder's attorneys had asked the judge to allow him to report to the Bureau of Prisons at a later date so he would have time to wrap up his affairs at home. They also asked to delay his prison sentence until all of his appeals were finished, which would likely be several years from now. Black refused both requests.
Black said the $1.3 billion spent on a nuclear bailout for Akron-based FirstEnergy as part of the bribe scheme, could have been used to help Ohioans with scholarships, small business funding or improving the lives of regular people.
“And you handed it over to a bunch of suits in private jets," Black said.
Householder spoke at his sentencing hearing, but his words were to his family and his supporters, describing faith and community, and his unconditional love for his wife and five sons. He did not mention the case, the judge, or remorse.
“We didn’t see any remorse from him. And it was apparent the judge didn’t either," U.S. Attorney Ken Parker told reporters outside of the courthouse. "So he received the accountability that was due.”
Parker said this case should serve as a warning to other public officials. He reiterated that public corruption is a top priority for his office, and said other charges could be coming in this case.
“We continue to look through the evidence and we continue to listen to recordings and to speak to individuals. So we’re going to go - if something is there we’re going to go there too," Parker said.
Prosecutors wanted Householder to serve 16 to 20 years in prison, due to the size and sophistication of the scheme. Racketeering conspiracy, or RICO, is a charge more often associated with organized crime bosses than elected leaders and lobbyists.
“He acted as the quintessential mob boss, directing the criminal enterprise from the shadows and using his casket carriers to execute the scheme,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter wrote in a sentencing memorandum reminding the judge that Householder never expressed remorse.
Prosecutors say he led a complex scheme to funnel $60 million in dark money from FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiary to elect him as speaker, solidify his power base, secure enough votes to pass a ratepayer-funded bailout of two nuclear plants worth $1.3 billion and ensure it survived a ballot campaign to overturn it.
Householder took the witness stand, trying to convince jurors that he was an honest, frugal “old Appalachian boy,” who loved his family and the common folk of Ohio who he referred to as Bob and Betty Buckeye.
But jurors returned a guilty verdict after nine hours of deliberation, without asking a single question. Afterward, Householder’s family members and supporters tried to convince the judge that he deserved sympathy.
“I need my dad!!! My kids need their grandpa!!! We need him at the farm where he has always been when we need him, not sitting in some prison cell,” Householder’s son, Matthew Householder, wrote in a letter to the judge.
Matthew Householder wrote about his father’s years as a Little League baseball coach, and volunteer work for the county fair, food drives, disabled veterans and the church, and his devotion to family, farm, community and public service.
“I hope you as you consider how much more to take away from Larry Householder, that you consider how much he has already paid forward, I think you'll find he is paid up,” Matthew Householder wrote.
Householder’s wife, Taundra, who is age 65, begged for sympathy in her letter to the judge, hoping to spend her retirement years with her husband.
“I am not stable and strong, he is the rock and the only way our family has survived. He is the reason many people have survived. I see no way our family and especially me, can survive the last years we have left ... apart,” she wrote, asking that he receive probation.
But her letter also hinted at her husband's innocence and criticized the government.
“The government made an argument in court that Larry is all about power and money. You should have heard the people that know him laugh. That is so opposite of him. Larry would not have given up his insurance agency, but he did because he never wanted even a hint of a conflict of interest, he wanted to focus on doing a great job for the people of Ohio. I have been with him many, many times when people try to buy our dinner, Larry wouldn't allow it, he could care less about money,” she wrote.
Michael Benza, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, predicted that Householder would get a prison term close to the 20-year maximum.
“It would not be surprising to anybody given the scope of what happened, the magnitude of the money, and the impact on the public trust,” Benza said.
Benza predicted that Borges will also get a long prison term at his sentencing hearing on Friday, despite having a lesser role in the scheme.
Prosecutors are asking Borges to serve five to eight years in prison; defense attorneys are asking for him to serve 12 months plus one day in prison.
FBI agents spent years investigating statehouse corruption, including using wiretaps and undercover agents to build their case, before arresting Householder at his farm on July 20, 2020.
“That morning when the federal agents showed up on our porch with automatic rifles and in combat gear we both were totally shocked. Since then, over the last 3 years, life has been a constant struggle. Each day we wake up not knowing what obstacles we will face that day,” Taundra Householder wrote.
Along with Householder and Borges, the grand jury indicted three others as part of the same racketeering scheme.
Two pleaded guilty to conspiracy and testified at trial: former FirstEnergy lobbyist Juan Cespedes, who told jurors, “I am guilty of the charge … I’m not proud of it,” and Householder advisor Jeffrey Longstreth, who said, “I handled the money. By doing that, I facilitated everything else that happened.”
A third, Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark, took his own life a year after his arrest. Clark died from a gunshot wound to the head in March 2021, while wearing a blue “DeWine for Governor” T-shirt, according to his Florida autopsy report which was reported by numerous media outlets.
The people who took part in this criminal enterprise called themselves, “Team Householder,” “House Bill 6 Team,” and “People on the Farm,” said Glatfelter, who noted that Householder wanted to find “casket carriers,”or people who were loyal to him above all else — even their own constituents as elected leaders.
But several former state lawmakers and political advisers wrote letters asking for sympathy for Householder. Some blamed the media and his political enemies for unfairly portraying him.
“Every experience I have had with Mr. Householder has been honorable and professional in nature … the idea of him ever masterminding an illegal scheme is something nearly impossible for me to even consider, much less believe,” wrote Republican strategist William Greene III in a letter to the judge. “My sincere belief is that any mistakes that might have taken place were errors of the mind, and not the heart.”
Former state representative John Hagan wrote, “I watched the speaker, in the years we served together, always moving legislation that kept people’s interest front and center … my plea to you Judge Black is that you exercise compassion in sentencing this man that I consider a friend.”
Legal experts say Householder and Borges' convictions will likely not end for several years and could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers, said both convictions will survive the appeals.
“I don't think it will be overturned in the Sixth Circuit … the question is what is the Supreme Court going to do,” DeVillers said. “We did a really deep dive into the past 20 years of the Supreme Court's rulings regarding federal public corruption cases against state officials. We looked at those cases and we talked to public integrity within DOJ (Department of Justice) and worked with our own appellate people and … we think that that it's a solid case within current law.”
DeVillers, who is now in private practice in Columbus, said this case has gotten the attention of many public officials and lobbyists.
“People are starting to pay attention and look into what is legal and what is illegal,” DeVillers said. “What makes this case unique is it shows the influence and how easy it is to use 501(c)4 dark money groups to launder massive amounts of bribe money … if this case is going to have any national impact, that’s where it lies.”
It’s possible the government has already made secret deals with other defendants, Benza said.
“It could be … that there will be some people who will never be prosecuted, in spite of the government's evidence demonstrating guilt,” Benza said. “It also could be the government is waiting to see who they want to go after next.”
