Republican Crime Blotter: Ohio Racketeer Sentenced

The former Republican speaker of Ohio's House of Representatives Larry Householder was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in Federal prison for directing a $60 million bribery scheme involving an energy provider and a former chair of the Ohio Republican party Matt Borges. The two were convicted earlier this year on a single racketeering charge. The Associated Press reports:

"Jurors found that Householder orchestrated and Borges participated in a $60 million bribery scheme secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to secure Householder’s power, elect his allies, pass legislation containing a $1 billion bailout for two aging nuclear power plants owned by a FirstEnergy affiliate and then to use a dirty tricks campaign to stifle a ballot effort to overturn the bill.

Federal prosecutors had recommended Householder receive 16 to 20 years, holding in a sentencing memo that he 'acted as the quintessential mob boss, directing the criminal enterprise from the shadows and using his casket carriers to execute the scheme.' That strategy, they said, gave Householder 'plausible deniability.'” (our emphasis)

He checks all the boxes for leadership in the MAGA cult party: hypocrisy, greed, dishonesty, lawlessness, betrayal of trust, etc. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black saw through Householder's pretense of being a good family man with some potty-mouth quotes from him:

".... Black threw back at Householder evidence counter to the family man image he had presented. He quoted Householder’s own statements, presented at trial, saying: “If you’re going to f—- with me, I’m going to f—- with your kids,” “we can f— with him later” and “f—- him ’til he’s dead.”

Black called Householder 'a bully with a lust for power' whose scheme marked an 'assault on democracy, the betrayal of everyone in Ohio.' That included the Ohioans who donated to, campaigned for and voted for Householder, the judge said.

'That wasn’t their way of just saying I like you or I support you. What they were saying is I’m choosing to trust you,' said Black. 'They trusted you to do right by them, and you betrayed their trust.'”  (our emphasis)

There's every reason to believe that Householder will appeal the sentence, because as a MAGA cultist, he also believes rules and laws are for other people.

(photo: Republican racketeer Householder/ Nick Swartsell, WVXU)