{"id":2175387,"date":"2024-02-13T16:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T21:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-former-execs-of-firstenergy-ex-regulator-indicted-in-bribery-scandal\/"},"modified":"2024-02-13T16:27:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T21:27:17","slug":"ohio-former-execs-of-firstenergy-ex-regulator-indicted-in-bribery-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-former-execs-of-firstenergy-ex-regulator-indicted-in-bribery-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio: Former FirstEnergy Execs, Ex-Regulator Indicted in Bribery Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fohio-former-execs-of-firstenergy-ex-regulator-indicted-in-bribery-scandal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2175387&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Water vapor is emitted from cooling towers at the FirstEnergy Corp. Plant. (Kevin Lorenzi\/Bloomberg \u2064via\u200b Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>OAN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/brooke-mallory\">Brooke \u200dMallory<\/a><br \/>1:12 PM \u2013 Tuesday, February \u206313, 2024<\/h2>\n<p>State Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Monday that two former officials of FirstEnergy Corp., including the company\u2019s fired CEO Chuck Jones and a former state utility regulator, have been indicted\u00a0in a public corruption case \u2063connected to\u200d a law intended to save Ohio\u2019s \u200bnuclear power\u200b reactors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Charles \u201cChuck\u201d Jones, Michael Dowling, the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-confirms-kathleen-hicks-as-deputy-defense-secretary\/\" title=\"Senate Confirms Kathleen Hicks as Deputy Defense Secretary\">senior vice president<\/a> of external \u200baffairs at FirstEnergy, \u2062and Samuel \u200cRandazzo, the former chairman \u200cof the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), were all indicted by a grand jury in Summit County, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>There are a total of 27 felony counts against \u2064the three of\u2063 them.<\/p>\n<p>The indictments are related to legislation from 2019 on \u200cnuclear subsidies and other measures that would favor FirstEnergy,\u200d an electric\u200c utility, which was later withdrawn.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThis indictment is about more than one piece of legislation,\u201d Yost said. \u201cIt is\u2062 about the hostile capture of a significant portion of Ohio\u2019s state government \u200bby deception, betrayal, and dishonesty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Jones and Dowling \u200bare facing their first criminal charges from the state. Meanwhile, Randazzo and others were also\u200d charged and are currently being prosecuted in federal court.<\/p>\n<p>Jones\u2019s lawyer said that her client \u200dhad \u200bacted in the best interest of FirstEnergy and \u2063its investors and\u2062 had also not broken any laws.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cWhen those facts are\u2062 presented, they will \u2064set the record\u2063 straight and restore the \u200bexcellent reputation that Mr. Jones built over a lifetime of service to Ohio electric customers, FirstEnergy employees,\u2062 his industry, and his community,\u201d Jones\u2019 lawyer Carole Rendon said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, FirstEnergy is a different, stronger company with new leadership,\u2062 a \u200dsound strategy, and a best-in-class compliance program,\u201d FirstEnergy spokesperson Jennifer \u2062Young\u2063 said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Previously, FirstEnergy had acknowledged \u200dpaying Randazzo and then-Ohio House Speaker Larry \u2063Householder a total of $64 million through organizations they controlled in return for \u200dfavorable legislation\u2062 and regulatory treatment.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2063 2020,\u200d Jones lost his\u200b job at FirstEnergy\u2063 when Householder was charged with\u200b racketeering by federal investigators.<\/p>\n<p>Four investigations of PUCO\u2019s own are still \u2064continuing, according to spokesman Matt Schilling. Schilling went on to say that the commission placed a high value on\u2062 its investigations not getting in the\u2064 way of federal or state investigations.<\/p>\n<p>Stay \u2062informed! Receive breaking news\u2062 blasts \u200cdirectly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>President Biden speaks at the\u200d National Association Of \u2062Counties meeting to tout his economic policies. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The Pentagon gives an update on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin\u2019s return to \u200dthe hospital. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Videos circling on TikTok show migrants how to cross the Southern Border.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Ricky Schroder<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Nvidia\u00a0briefly surpassed Amazon.com Inc\u00a0in market capitalization\u200d on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Nvidia\u00a0is building a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-nvidia-chases-30-billion-custom-chip-market-with-new-unit-sources\/\" title=\"Nvidia targets B custom chip market with new unit - sources\">business unit focused<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-identify-shooter-who-opened-fire-at-joel-osteens-megachurch-in-houston\/\" title=\"Police identify shooter at Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch\">designing \u2062bespoke chips<\/a> for cloud computing \u200cfirms\u200b and others.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Pinterest\u00a0dropped over 10% in a sign that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebook-ceo-calls-for-regulations-that-would-stifle-competitors\/\" title=\"Facebook CEO Calls for Regulations That Would Stifle Competitors\">smaller social media platforms<\/a> could be losing the\u2064 battle to bigger players for ad\u2064 dollars.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Google says consumers can pay for better reasoning capabilities as it vies with Microsoft\u00a0to win subscriptions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> \u2064What specific legislation was \u2064the indictment \u2064against Chuck \u200dJones and Michael Dowling connected to, and \u200dhow \u200dwould it have benefitted FirstEnergy?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  FirstEnergy Corp. amidst the swirling scandal. The company \u200dadmitted\u200d that \u200dit had paid off \u200cofficials in exchange for \u200dfavorable legislation and regulatory treatment. Now, two former \u200dofficials of the\u200b company, \u200dincluding fired CEO Chuck Jones, have \u2064been \u200cindicted in a \u200bpublic \u200ccorruption case in Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d indictments came after a grand\u2062 jury in Summit County, Ohio, issued a \u200btotal of 27 felony \u2062counts against Jones,\u2062 Michael Dowling, the former \u200bsenior vice president of external affairs at FirstEnergy, and Samuel\u200b Randazzo, \u200bthe former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of \u2063Ohio (PUCO). The charges are connected\u2064 to a \u2063law that aimed to provide subsidies for Ohio&#8217;s nuclear power reactors, \u2062a measure\u200b that\u200b would have \u200cbenefited FirstEnergy, but was later withdrawn.<\/p>\n<p>Ohio State Attorney General Dave\u2062 Yost, who announced the indictments, said that this \u200ccase is not \u2063just about\u2062 one piece of legislation but\u2063 about the \u2062capture of a\u2062 significant\u200d portion of \u2063Ohio&#8217;s \u2062state government through deception, betrayal, and dishonesty.<\/p>\n<p>While Jones and Dowling are facing their first criminal charges at the state\u2064 level, Randazzo \u200cand others involved in \u200dthe \u2064scandal have also been charged and are currently\u2062 being prosecuted \u200cin federal \u2063court.<\/p>\n<p>Jones&#8217;s lawyer, Carole Rendon,\u2063 maintains that her client acted in\u200b the best interest of\u200d FirstEnergy and its investors and\u200b did \u200cnot violate any laws. She \u200bis confident that once all the facts\u200c are presented, Jones&#8217;s excellent\u200b reputation \u2064built over a lifetime of service to Ohio&#8217;s electric \u200ccustomers, FirstEnergy employees, his industry, and his community will be restored.<\/p>\n<p>FirstEnergy, on the other hand, \u200bclaims that\u200b the company has \u2064changed and\u200d strengthened since the scandal, with new \u2064leadership, a \u200bsound strategy, \u2062and a best-in-class compliance program. Jennifer Young,\u200c a spokesperson for FirstEnergy, emphasized that the company is different now.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2064 is \u200dworth \u2063noting that prior to these indictments, FirstEnergy had already admitted to paying off Randazzo and \u2063then-Ohio House Speaker Larry \u2064Householder a total \u2064of $64 million through organizations they \u200dcontrolled, in exchange for favorable legislation and regulatory treatment.<\/p>\n<p>This public corruption case involving FirstEnergy highlights the\u200b importance of transparency and ethical behavior in corporate and government affairs. It\u200c serves as a\u2063 reminder that\u2062 no one \u2064is above \u2064the law, \u2062and those who engage in corrupt \u200dpractices will be \u2063held accountable. As \u2062the legal proceedings continue, it\u200b remains \u2062to be seen how the case\u2064 will unfold and what \u200cconsequences will ensue for those involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Been indicted on charges related to a $60 million bribery scheme. The scheme involved the company&#8217;s attempts to secure a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear power plants. Yost stated that this case highlights the need for transparency and accountability in the energy industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1866,"featured_media":2175388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/first.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2175387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/first.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1866"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2175387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2175388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2175387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2175387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2175387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}