CINCINNATI — Prosecutors rested their case Monday in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, a scheme to sell the statehouse for a controversial $1.3 billion nuclear and coal bailout law.
After five weeks of trial, 18 witnesses, thousands of bank records and dozens of secret recordings, prosecutors laid out their case against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and ex-GOP chair Matt Borges. They describe it as a “purposely complicated” conspiracy to disguise bribes through dark money, to pass what many describe as the worst energy policy in the nation — House Bill 6.
“Matt’s requests of me were shocking. I felt like I was being taken advantage of someone I trusted,” said political consultant Tyler Fehrman, who described Borges as a good friend and mentor until he tried to bribe him.
Fehrman worked as a regional manager for the unsuccessful referendum campaign to overturn HB6. He testified that Borges asked him to provide information, such as where workers were gathering voter signatures and how many signatures they had collected, in exchange for the $15,000 he paid him. Fehrman testified that Borges knew he owed back child support and needed to pay legal fees for a custody battle.
At first, Fehrman said no to Borges, that his integrity wasn’t for sale. But when Borges texted him, “No matter what don’t ever tell anyone about our from conversation earlier,” Fehrman decided to go to the FBI.
He met with FBI Agent Blane Wetzel at a Graeter’s Ice Cream shop in 2019 and ultimately agreed to wear a wire during his conversations with Borges.
“After our initial conversation I knew that we weren’t friends,” Borges said. “He was attempting to take advantage of me.”
Prosecutors accuse Borges and Householder of being part of a racketeering scheme to funnel $61 million in dark money from Akron-based First Energy Corp. to elect Householder as speaker, solidify his power base, secure enough votes to pass a ratepayer-funded bailout of two FirstEnergy Corp. nuclear plants and ensure it survived a ballot campaign to overturn it.
FirstEnergy representatives signed a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors in July 2021 and agreed to pay a $230 million fine. The public utility holding company admitted it conspired with public officials and others to pay tens of millions in exchange for bailout legislation.
While most of this case has focused on Householder’s role in the conspiracy, in contrast, Fehrman’s testimony on Monday zeroed in on Borges.
Jurors heard numerous secretly recorded conversations from 2019 in which Borges is asked Fehrman to spy on his employer in exchange for money.
“This is going to be a private transaction between you and me,” Borges said, taking place over a couple of months. “This stays quiet.”
“So 15 and then 10 later?” Fehrman asked, referring to the $25,000 he thought Borges would pay him.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Borges said in response.
In reality, Borges gave him a $15,000 check which Fehrman said he turned over to the FBI. The FBI then in turn paid Fehrman $1,000 for his work on the case, because of “what I had to deal with … it was extremely stressful … and kind of sucked a lot of energy out of me.”
Defeating the ballot initiative was crucial to the scheme, prosecutors said, and Borges agreed.
“If it makes the ballot, we’re dead,” Borges said about the repeal effort. “If it makes the ballot, it's kind of over.”
Fehrman agreed, saying that people “hate that bill,” so voters would defeat it.
And if that happened, Borges said, “Householder is going to introduce a new piece of legislation and start this whole … process all over again.” Borges said.
In one secret recording, Borges described Householder’s relationship with FirstEnergy as an “unholy alliance.”
After prosecutors rested their case, attorneys for Borges and Householder asked U.S. District Court Judge Tim Black to acquit their clients which he denied.
Then Householder’s lawyers called their first witness, Rep. Bill Seitz, a Republican from the Cincinnati area.
He testified that “energy independence in the U.S. and in Ohio,” was a central tenant of Householder’s political beliefs.
Seitz, who voted for the controversial HB 6, told jurors that he had six reasons for doing so: to preserve jobs and a tax base; to provide carbon-free electricity for the remaining life fo the plants; to keep generating assets for Ohio, and that the bill would ultimately save ratepayers $2.3 billion dollars over its useful life.
But under cross-examination, Seitz admitted he had not been in any of the meetings with Householder and FirstEnergy executives and he had no control over any of the bank accounts involved in the case.
Defense attorneys expect to call several former and current Republican lawmakers to testify.
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