Prosecutors accuse Ohio Republicans of taking $60m in bribes as corruption trial opens [View all]
Source: Guardian
State house speaker Larry Householder and four others charged with racketeering and could face up to 20 years in prison
Former Ohio house speaker Larry Householder. Photograph: John Minchillo/AP
Mario Ariza in Cincinnati for Floodlight
Mon 23 Jan 2023 18.52 EST
Federal prosecutors on the first day of a historic racketeering trial in Ohio alleged that top Republicans in the state accepted bribes from the power company FirstEnergy.
The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, is the latest utility scandal following cases in the last 10 years in Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida which experts say has led to higher bills for consumers, less green energy, and more CO2 emissions.
One of the defendants, the former Ohio house speaker Larry Householder, told reporters Monday morning as he waited for opening statements in the US district court in Cincinnati that he has done nothing wrong and expects “redemption”.
Householder is charged with one count of racketeering, and if convicted, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/23/ohio-republican-larry-householder-corruption-trial
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