{"id":333,"date":"2023-02-14T14:48:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T14:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/articles\/500000-shows-how-much-you-care-householder-update-6\/"},"modified":"2023-02-14T14:48:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T14:48:01","slug":"500000-shows-how-much-you-care-householder-update-6","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/articles\/500000-shows-how-much-you-care-householder-update-6\/","title":{"rendered":"$500,000 shows how much you care \u2014 Householder Update # 6"},"template":"","class_list":["post-333","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":null,"article_type":153,"authors":null,"related_issues":[105,423],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"By Sandy Theis, former reporter and political analyst\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2023\/02\/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-9.45.04-AM-300x141.png\")
\r\n\r\nCINCINNATI -- It was October 2018. Larry Householder wanted to be Ohio\u2019s next Speaker of the House; FirstEnergy wanted electricity customers to bailout out its financially struggling nuclear power plants.<\/span>\r\n\r\nBoth got their wishes with help from a $400,000 check that FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Bob Klaffky slid across a table and tucked under Householder\u2019s hand.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cOur client cares very much about this issue,\u2019\u2019 Klaffky told Householder.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cYes they do,\u2019\u2019 Householder said, after peeking inside and seeing the check to Generation Now, a dark money group that does not have to reveal its donors.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFunneling the money<\/b>\r\n\r\nThese details about the check and other explosive testimony came in federal court Monday from Juan Cespedes, a co-defendant with Householder who attended the Klaffky meeting. The testimony marked Cespedes\u2019 first public comments since his arrest in July 2020 and the first to directly link utility payments to passage of the bailout bill. He and co-defendant Jeff Longstreth entered <\/span>guilty pleas<\/span><\/a> the following October.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m guilty. I\u2019m not proud of it,\u2019\u2019 Cespedes said at the outset of his testimony. <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m here to tell the truth and be accountable for it.\u2019\u2019\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCespedes said he worked for FirstEnergy Solutions and coordinated tens of millions in donations steered to Generation Now, the dark money group that has <\/span>pleaded guilty to collecting and concealing the bribes<\/span><\/a>. Householder and Longstreth controlled Generation Now, Cespedes said<\/span>.<\/span>\r\n\r\nHouseholder is on trial along with Matt Borges, a lobbyist and former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. They are accused of participating in a scheme to use $61 million\u2014most of it from FirstEnergy\u2014to make Householder speaker and then pass a $1.3 billion bailout of failing nuclear and coal plants. Both Householder and Borges maintain their innocence.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201c...our support was specifically tied to the legislation.\u201d<\/b>\r\n\r\nCespedes testified that he was tasked with putting together a plan to pass the bailout, initially not knowing whether Householder or Rep. Ryan Smith would be elected Speaker. It was clear, he said, that Householder would be more favorable to the Akron utility\u2019s needs.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn a meeting on Aug. 1, 2018, Householder told FirstEnergy Services lobbyist Klaffky that he needed \u201cmultiple hundreds of thousands of dollars\u201d to help get his slate of House candidates elected so they could vote to make him Speaker, Cespedes testified. Klaffky \u201cpushed back\u2019\u2019 and noted that FES had filed for bankruptcy. Still, FirstEnergy officials decided that they would initially give Householder $500,000 but split it into payments of $400,000 and $100,000.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe second check helped ensure there was no confusion.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were trying to establish the fact that our support was specifically tied to the legislation,\u201d Cespedes testified, confirming the quid-pro-quo that is key to the prosecution\u2019s case.<\/span>\r\n\r\nKlaffky can\u2019t recall<\/b>\r\n\r\nKlaffky did not return calls seeking comment, but he did tell The Plain Dealer that he recalled <\/span>meeting with Householder along with other FirstEnergy Solutions representatives but does recall giving Householder a check nor does he remember what he said during the October 2018 meeting.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFrom the Plain Dealer:<\/span>\r\n\r\nAsked if it would be common for him to give a campaign contribution at the same meeting where policy issues are discussed, Klaffky said no. He said he \u201cnever\u201d personally gives checks to elected officials, and said that as a general practice, he leaves it to clients to decide what they want to do during meetings.<\/span><\/i>\r\n\r\n\u201cI recall the client brought the check to a meeting I arranged for the client,\u201d Klaffky said. \u201cJuan was there too, I think. And they gave him a check... I don\u2019t recall saying any of those things. I\u2019m not saying I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\r\n\r\nKlaffky is not on any upcoming witness lists and said he has not heard from anyone about the meeting\u2014including Cespedes, Householder or the FBI.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCespedes is expected to return to the witness stand on Tuesday.<\/span>\r\n