Former FirstEnergy executives reindicted on public corruption charges
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich reindicted two former FirstEnergy executives for their alleged involvement in the House Bill 6 scandal that involves the Akron-based electric utility on Thursday.
“The roots of this complex case haven’t changed – FirstEnergy was hijacked by two scheming executives who sought to control the regulator that influenced the company’s stock prices,” Yost said in a Thursday release. “I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom.”
In a release, Kolkovich also said that “manipulating the system for personal gain is a violation of the public’s trust,” adding that he and his office “will continue to work with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to prosecute these alleged crimes and ensure justice is served for all Ohio communities.”
According to the release, a Summit County grand jury charged Charles “Chuck” Jones, former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Michael Dowling, the company’s former senior vice president of external affairs, with 22 felony counts.
Jones was indicted on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of telecommunications fraud, one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery, one count of tampering with evidence, and two counts of obstructing justice.
Dowling was indicted on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of telecommunications fraud, one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery, and 14 counts of tampering with records.
Prosecutors allege that Jones and Dowling have been operating a bribery scheme from 2010 to 2021, with prosecutors alleging that they “stole the power of government” to serve FirstEnergy’s agenda and covered their tracks with false ethics filings.
The new indictments follow a March mistrial when the jury could not reach a verdict, according to the press release. Jones and Dowling were first charged in February 2024.
After the mistrial was announced, Yost said in his statement that the state of Ohio will retry Jones and Dowling.
“So we have a hung jury. That means they deliberated for a long time and couldn’t get to a verdict that they all agreed on,” Yost said. “That means somebody didn’t think they were guilty, and some people thought they were beyond a reasonable doubt. What happens next? The state of Ohio can, and will, retry these defendants. Justice needs to be done.”
Another person who was indicted was Samuel “Sam” Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, with Jones and Dowling being accused of funneling a $4.3 million bribe to Randazzo, who committed suicide before the trial, according to WOSU Public Media.
At the request of the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation was conducted by a task force under the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, according to the release.
