COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is defending his top advisor after a criminal indictment alleges she knew about millions going to a man about to be appointed to power by the governor. She helped vet the former chair of the Public Utilities Commission, Sam Randazzo, after her family had already received a $10,000 loan from him.
The governor's team insists she didn't know the millions was a bribe payment.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
On the heels of not-guilty pleas from utility executives and a former state official in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) and fellow Democratic leaders have come together to propose anti-corruption legislation — trying to prevent another House Bill 6 scheme.
"Despite these crimes and the economic impact to Ohio families, small businesses and consumers, not one bill has been passed in the past five years that would prevent another crushing scandal like this from happening again," Russo said during a press conference Thursday. "In fact, there's not even an appetite."
Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones, former FirstEnergy Senior Vice President Michael Dowling and former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Sam Randazzo all pleaded not guilty during their arraignment in Summit County in mid-February.
The executives allegedly paid Randazzo $4.3 million in bribes before DeWine appointed him as chair of the leader of the watchdog of utilities.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was in on the plan — and took a $61 million bribe in exchange for legislation to give FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named H.B. 6, all at the expense of the taxpayers. After he was caught, faced a jury and found guilty, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
This bribery scandal has been covered extensively by News 5's Morgan Trau, who followed the legislation all the way through the Statehouse, the arrests, trial, conviction and sentencing of Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges. She continues to follow it as the next group are indicted federally and by the state.
Back in Dec., Trau asked DeWine in a one-on-one interview if he regretted appointing Randazzo to the PUCO.
"Oh, look, if I knew what I know now, if I knew that — I certainly would not have appointed Sam Randazzo to that position," the governor responded.
But the Democrats have requested the DOJ and Ohio’s Southern District Attorney Ken Parker to investigate DeWine's administration, with new urgency stemming from Randazzo's indictment.
The indictment states Randazzo told DeWine through his chief of staff Laurel Dawson, “that he had received $4.3 million from FirstEnergy” in January of 2019 — before he was appointed. The document says Randazzo claimed the exorbitant amount of money "was final payment of a 'consulting agreement.’”
"It certainly doesn’t look good for your chief of staff to learn of a huge potential conflict of interest and not tell you," state Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) said.
DeWine claimed Dawson never told him about the millions from FirstEnergy.
There was nothing wrong with her not telling the governor, DeWine's spokesperson Dan Tierney told Trau over the phone Thursday.
"It would be highly unusual for the governor to be made aware of such a payment in the vetting of a cabinet member, especially when it was well known that Randazzo was a paid consultant for FirstEnergy," Tierney said.
The day prior, Trau questioned why DeWine would even appoint someone to be the watchdog of a company that he had continuously worked with and just received $4 million from.
"Hindsight is 20/20," Tierney said. "If people were arguing after the fact that the governor should not have appointed somebody who had a financial relationship with FirstEnergy, I think he addressed that when he filled the vacancy."
DeWine appointed Jenifer French, a former judge for the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
But that's not all.
Randazzo allegedly loaned Dawson’s FirstEnergy lobbyist husband $10,000 in 2016, the court document continued.
Trau asked Tierney several times if the governor was aware of the loan, considering Dawson was on the vetting committee. After 15 seconds of silence, Tierney said, "That is not something we're going to comment on."
Still, the governor stands by his advisor.
"I have great confidence in her, great trust in her," DeWine said.
To be clear, Dawson has not been charged with any crime. According to Tierney, the administration only learned it was a bribe in 2021 — after Randazzo's home was raided the year prior.
Dawson declined to do an interview.
Trau asked DeWine during a press conference Wednesday if it was possible Dawson knew about the bribe before DeWine appointed Randazzo.
"It’s not clear to me she knew that before these decisions were made," DeWine responded.
After a bit of back-and-forth, Trau said, "But it is possible that she did."
DeWine tilted his head from side to side and thought for about 10 seconds.
"Well, again, I can only tell you what I knew when I knew it," the governor said.
If the governor truly didn’t know, Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) has a way for him to prove it.
"We would expect him to call for reforms and be supportive of these other measures," she said.
It is unlikely that any of the anti-corruption legislation will pass in the GOP-supermajority.
RELATED: Ohio Statehouse drama continues as lawmakers attempt to repeal scandal-ridden coal plant subsidies
Context
In March of 2023, a jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another dead by suicide. The federal judge sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison, while Borges got five. The two surviving defendants took plea agreements early on, helping the FBI, and are still awaiting their sentencing. The feds are asking for zero to six months for them.
H.B. 6 isn't completely off the books.
The corrupt legislation mainly benefited FirstEnergy's struggling nuclear power plants, but those provisions were later repealed. There are aspects of the bill still in place.
RELATED: Following legal scandal, Ohio utility companies try to raise costs — again
The Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) got a handout from the scheme. It expanded a bailout of the OVEC plants and required Ohioans to pay for two 1950s-era coal plants— one in the Southern area of the state and the other in Indiana. The main beneficiaries of this are American Electric Power Company (AEP), Duke Energy and AES Ohio.
There are numerous bipartisan efforts to repeal H.B. 6 totally and to put forward ethics laws. None are going anywhere, it seems.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
