The U.S. Supreme Court won’t overturn the bribery conviction of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, ending a six-year legal saga that sent the former top Republican leader to prison for 20 years.
Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn their convictions from a sweeping pay-to-play scandal in which a Fortune 500 company bought power at the Ohio Statehouse.
But the justices decided that this wasn’t the case for a comprehensive review of federal anti-corruption laws. The U.S. Supreme Court denied their writ of certiorari on April 27.
The scheme involved Akron-based utility FirstEnergy spending more than $60 million to help Householder win control of the Ohio House of Representatives, pass House Bill 6 to bail out two nuclear plants then-owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary and defend that law against a well-funded ballot campaign to block it.
The FBI’s investigation included undercover agents, a political consultant wearing a wire and hours of secretly recorded videos. The crime was featured in an HBO documentary about the dangers of dark money.
Householder and Borges were sentenced to 20 years and five years in prison, respectively. Two other defendants, FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes and Householder political consultant Jeff Longstreth, pleaded guilty and await sentencing. The fifth defendant, superlobbyist Neil Clark, died by suicide in March 2021.
In October 2025, Householder and Borges appealed their convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court. They argued that Householder hadn’t engaged in an explicit quid pro quo agreement with FirstEnergy and that jury instructions were confusing.
“Politics works best when candidates are candid with voters about the candidate’s position on issues. Prison is not the place for a candidate who makes clear where they stand − as has Householder through a career of supporting utilities − and then solicits or receives contributions from like-minded constituents,” Householder’s attorney Steven Bradley wrote.
Federal prosecutors argued that the convictions should be upheld because an explicit “pay to play” statement wasn’t needed to convict Householder of bribery. And even if justices wanted to take a second look at federal bribery law, “these cases would be poor vehicles for resolving the question presented,” U.S. Solicitor John Sauer wrote.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided not to review the bribery conviction of former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld. The justices instead cleared the way to dismiss the case after President Donald Trump had pardoned Sittenfeld.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: U.S. Supreme Court won’t reverse Larry Householder’s bribery conviction
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
