Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested on Tuesday by federal officials along with four others in connection with a $60 million bribery case, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
All the suspects are expected to appear by video to be arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Columbus later on Tuesday.
There were reports of police activity at Householder’s farm, and the U.S. Attorney’s office said it would hold a press conference later on Tuesday related to the case, according to the Dayton Daily News.
NBC4 reported that the bribes are apparently related to an Ohio House “Clean Air Act” that included a bailout for two nuclear power plants managed by FirstEnergy.
Householder, a farmer and businessman, has led the Republican-controlled Ohio House since January last year. The speaker has a great amount of influence over how the state spends more than $140 billion and can put a stop to any legislation, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Householder’s latest filing with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee stated that he earned income, in addition to his salary as speaker, from Householder Farms, Peoples State Bank, Peoples National Bancshares, Perry Warehouse Company Ltd, and Householder & Sons Family.
The four others arrested along with Householder are former Ohio Republican chairman Matt Borges, lobbyist Neil Clark, Ohio Civil Rights Commission member Juan Cespedes, who is also a lobbyist, and political consultant Jeff Longstreth, a source familiar with the probe told the Daily News.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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