![The Perry Nuclear Power plant in Northeast Ohio, one of the two nuclear power plants owned by Energy Harbor, formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions. [Andy Chow / Statehouse News Bureau]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ee39330/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2021%2F07%2F1019257024_1640402343.jpg)
FirstEnergy will pay $230 million after entering into a deferred prosecution agreement over charges that the company bribed then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Public Utilities Commission Chairman Sam Randazzo.
The company admitted it "conspired with public officials and other individuals and entities", according to a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Vipal J. Patel. FirstEnergy is charged with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud.
A formal announcement is expected this afternoon in Cincinnati.
A year ago yesterday, five people were arrested in connection with the effort to pass House Bill 6, the law that created subsidies for Ohio's two nuclear power plants, and the effort to stop a repeal of the law. Those arrested included Householder, former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges, lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes, and Householder operative Jeff Longstreth.
Prosecutors said Householder and the other defendants took part in a $61 million bribery scheme that helped Householder rise to power in order for him to pass the bailout.
Two entities were also named in the case: the 501(c)4 group Generation Now, which fought the attempt to repeal HB 6, and a utility widely believed to be FirstEnergy. FirstEnergy's former subsidiary, Energy Harbor, previously known as FirstEnergy Solutions, owned the nuclear power plants.
Longstreth and Cespedes pleaded guilty last October. Clark died by suicide in Florida in March. Borges and Householderhave maintained their innocence. Householder was ousted from his leadership position not long after his arrest, and expelled from the House last month.
Generation Now pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge in February. FirstEnergy was reported to be looking to make a deal with prosecutors, after firing its top executives.
Sam Randazzo resigned from the Public Utilities Commission after his home was raided by the FBI. No charges have been filed against him. But FirstEnergy disclosed in an SEC filing that it paid $4 million to end a consulting agreement with a company associated with an unnamed individual who went on to become a state regulatory official.
State lawmakers have repealed the nuclear subsidies in HB 6, but the law also created subsidies for coal-burning power plants and solar projects and cut renewable energy standards and energy efficiency standards for utilities.
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