Ohio State House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder, et al., arrested for $61 million public corruption racketeering conspiracy related to Ohio's 2019 $1.5 billion nuclear & coal bailout House Bill 6
As reported by Ian Cross at News5Cleveland:
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four of his associates have been arrested on charges in relation to “what is likely the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," one that allegedly involved at least $61 million passed through a 501c4 organization controlled by Householder and other entities for the purpose of passing HB6 in 2019, a law that provided a $1.5 billion [rate]payer bailout to FirstEnergy.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers spoke with reporters about the 81-page indictment of Householder and his associates on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 90%, or more, of the Ohio ratepayer-funded bailout went to FirstEnergy's (now Energy Harbor) two age-degraded atomic reactors on northern Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline, Davis-Besse near Toledo, and Perry near Cleveland. Another portion of the bailout went to FirstEnergy-owned dirty old coal burners.
See the U.S. Department of Justice press advisory, here.
See the U.S. Department of Justice press release, here.
See the 82-page long criminal complaint, and accompanying FBI affidavit, here.
For extensive Ohio-wide and even national media coverage in the first day or two of this revelation, as well as press statements from Beyond Nuclear and other environmental watch-dogs, read on below. For more recent updates, visit our Nuclear Costs website section (arranged in backwards chronological order).
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Beyond Nuclear Press Statement |
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Re: FBI raids and arrests on Ohio House Speaker Householder, et al., related to Ohio's billion dollar bailout of two dangerously age-degraded nuclear power plants |
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| TAKOMA PARK, MD --
Press statement from Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Beyond Nuclear:
"What's really scary is that the corruption is not just monetary, or legislative. Davis-Besse's containment structure is corrupted, in the sense that the Shield Building is severely cracked, even to the point of potential collapse. The reactor pressure vessel is corrupted, in the sense of neutron embrittlement risking pressurized thermal shock through-wall fracture, as well as boric acid corrosion. The high-level radioactive waste storage pool is corrupted, in the sense that it is leaking. The replacement steam generators are corrupted, in the sense that they are experimental, maximizing profits at the expense of safety. The physical corruption of the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant is what really worries me, regarding the health, safety, and environment for countless Ohioans -- and Great Lakes residents beyond -- downwind, downstream, up the food chain, and down the generations, in terms of the worsening risks of a catastrophic release of long-lasting hazardous radioactivity. Davis-Besse should have been retired a long time ago, for the sake of safety alone. And yet the reactor sails ever deeper into the uncharted waters of reactor meltdown risk, while churning out ever more high-level radioactive waste, for which we have no good solution.
Perry, for its part, is infamous for worker over exposures to hazardous radioactivity. It was also the first U.S. atomic reactor to suffer damage from earthquake activity, a risk that only worsens with Perry's age-related degradation.
Both atomic reactors should be shut down ASAP. Just consider the Nuclear Regulatory Commission CRAC-II study, short for Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences, also known as the 1982 Sandia Siting Study, or as NUREG/CR-2239. For Davis-Besse, the report predicted 1,400 peak early fatalities, 73,000 peak early injuries, 10,000 peak cancer deaths, and $84 billion in property damage, in the event of a reactor core meltdown and catastrophic radiation release onto the winds and waves. Perry's CRAC-II figures are 5,500 acute radiation deaths, 180,000 radiation injuries, 14,000 latent cancer fatalities, and $102 billion in property damage. But as AP investigative reporter Jeff Donn reported in June 2011, in his series 'Aging Nukes,' populations have soared around atomic reactors like Davis-Besse and Perry since 1982, so casualties would now be significantly higher. And when adjusted for inflation alone, Davis-Besse and Perry's property damage figures would be $225 billion, and $273 billion, respectively. Given such risks, and now given the apparent corruption associated with their ongoing operations, both reactors should be shut down as soon as possible."
From 2010 to 2016, Beyond Nuclear helped lead a coalition of environmental groups, including Don't Waste Michigan, the Ohio Green Party, and Citizen Environmental Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, that unsuccessfully challenged Davis-Besse's 20-year license extension. From 2013 to 2014, Beyond Nuclear joined with that same coalition, as well as the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter, to challenge Davis-Besse's experimental steam generator replacements; Fairewinds Energy Education chief engineer, Arnie Gundersen, served as expert witness for the coalition. In both proceedings, Toledo, Ohio attorney Terry Lodge served as the coalition's legal counsel.
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| Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear. Beyond Nuclear: 7304 Carroll Avenue, #182, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Info@beyondnuclear.org. www.beyondnuclear.org. |
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Media Coverage:
Ohio House Speaker Householder charged in bribery case
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4:08pm, July 21, 2020 [Updated 8:47pm]
Ohio Speaker, associates accused of using $61m in 'dark money' to get energy bailout bill passed
Ohio corruption: House Bill 6 was nasty, expensive fight even as feds investigated
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case
FBI raids Ohio house speaker's farm amid alleged investigation into nuke plant bailout
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Press release by Sierra Club (Sierra Club joined with Beyond Nuclear and other environmental coalition groups to challenge FirstEnergy Nuclear's high-risk, experimental steam generator replacement at Davis-Besse in the 2013 to 2014 time frame; Terry Lodge served as the coalition's legal counsel, and Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education as its expert witness):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2020
The Nation’s Most Regressive Energy Legislation,
Now Also Most Corrupt, Should be Repealed
The Ohio legislature must take steps to rebuild public trust. A necessary first step for that is the immediate repeal of House Bill 6.
Columbus, OH -- Today, a new criminal complaint followed the FBI arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder for corruption charges linked to the passage of Ohio’s House Bill 6 (HB 6); the coal and nuclear bailout tax legislation.
This time last year, Sierra Club along with other advocacy groups aggressively resisted HB6 which forces electricity customers to pay more each month to prop up aging uneconomic coal and nuclear power plants, instead of investing in newer and cheaper clean energy projects, while also gutting Ohio’s clean energy and energy efficiency laws. Despite those efforts, the legislation passed with mounting questions and frustration.
In response, Neil Waggoner, Senior Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Ohio, released the following statement:
“The whole process around HB 6 -- from its passage through the legislature, to the attempted referendum campaign -- was riddled with red flags. It's therefore shocking, but not surprising, that after a campaign around a bill based on lies, greed, and a complete disregard of facts now involves criminal corruption at the highest levels of Ohio’s state government.
The Ohio legislature must take steps to rebuild public trust, and an immediate necessary first step is to repeal HB 6."
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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GOP Ohio House speaker arrested in connection to $60 million bribery scheme
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Powerful Ohio Republican Is Arrested in $60 Million Corruption Scheme
The House speaker was connected with a conspiracy to enact a $1.3 billion bailout of an energy company, the F.B.I. said.
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Published July 21, 2020
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Updated July 22, 2020, 11:34 a.m. ET
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Ohio Green Party press release (the Ohio Green Party, along with Beyond Nuclear, Citizen Environmental Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, and Don't Waste Michigan, intervened against FirstEnergy Nuclear's Davis-Besse atomic reactor 20-year license extension, from 2010 to 2016; Terry Lodge of Toledo, OH served as legal counsel for the coalition):
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Joseph DeMare, 419-973-5841.
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