[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 201 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6152-H6154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     OHIO'S NUCLEAR ENERGY PROBLEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the production of nuclear power in our 
country is an awesome responsibility. Put in the hands of the wrong 
people, it can be deadly.
  Those who operate nuclear facilities must be highly trained and 
honorable. Recall Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima? They all 
teach us nuclear power in the hands of careless and, indeed, corrupt 
people can be deadly to thousands of innocent people.
  This morning, let us turn to Ohio's two financially strapped nuclear 
plants, both located in northern Ohio, adjacent to our people's 
freshwater kingdom, Lake Erie.
  In Ohio, the largest corruption crimes in America's commercial plant 
nuclear history are being litigated. These crimes are also the largest 
public corruption trials in Ohio's history.
  Last week, a Federal grand jury in Cincinnati indicted former chair 
of Ohio's Public Utilities Commission, Sam Randazzo, on bribery and 
embezzlement for his role in receiving $4.3 million in kickbacks for 
what has been labeled the biggest political bribery scandal in Ohio's 
history.
  The nuclear power company, FirstEnergy, ultimately paid more than $60 
million in 2018 and 2019 to bribe public officials like the Speaker of 
the Ohio House, who has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article entitled ``Sam 
Randazzo, Ohio's former top utilities regulator, charged with bribery, 
embezzlement crimes.''

[[Page H6153]]

  


            [From the Plain Dealer Cleveland, Dec. 5, 2023]

   Sam Randazzo, Ohio's Former Top Utilities Regulator, Charged With 
                      Bribery, Embezzlement Crimes

  (By Jeremy Pelzer, Andrew J. Tobias, and Jake Zuckerman, Zuckerman)

  Columbus, OH.--A federal grand jury has indicted Sam Randazzo, the 
 former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, on 11 counts 
  related to bribery and embezzlement, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker's 
                        office announced Monday.

       The indictment states that Randazzo accepted a $4.3 million 
     bribe in exchange for helping FirstEnergy, an Akron-based 
     electric utility, secure its policy priorities, including 
     helping with House Bill 6, the 2019 energy law at the center 
     of a federal bribery probe. FirstEnergy admitted to bribing 
     Randazzo in 2021, but he wasn't charged until now.
       If convicted, Randazzo could face up to 20 years in prison.
       The 74-year-old Columbus resident self-surrendered on 
     Monday morning at U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, 
     according to a release. He appeared in federal court that 
     afternoon, cuffed at the wrists and ankles, before Chief 
     Magistrate Judge Karen Litkovitz at Cincinnati's federal 
     courthouse. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a bond 
     of his own recognizance.
       The 11 counts against Randazzo include: one count of 
     conspiring to commit travel act bribery and honest services 
     wire fraud, two counts of travel act bribery, two counts of 
     honest services wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and five 
     counts of making illegal monetary transactions, according to 
     the release.
       As chairman of the PUCO from April 2019 until he resigned 
     in November 2020, Randazzo reviewed requests from gas and 
     electric companies seeking to levy new costs on customers. He 
     accepted $4.3 million soon after meeting with then-
     FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling in 
     December 2018, as Randazzo was applying to become PUCO chair.
       In November 2019, Randazzo pushed to cancel a 2024 rate 
     review case that the company believed would hurt its bottom 
     line by forcing it to reduce the rates it charged customers, 
     as well as open its books to regulators, which they saw as 
     problematic.
       Randazzo also played a key role in getting lawmakers, 
     including Ohio Senate Finance Committee Chair Matt Dolan, to 
     include language in the 2019 state budget that loosened state 
     limits on FirstEnergy, and other utilities' ability to make 
     ``significantly excessive'' profits, according to the 
     indictment.
       Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican now running for the U.S. 
     Senate, previously acknowledged speaking to Dowling, who 
     convinced him of the need to place the amendment in the state 
     budget. The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com reached out to Dolan 
     on Monday for comment.
       The indictment states that Randazzo routed the bribe money 
     through his consulting business, Sustainability Funding 
     Alliance of Ohio. He also used that business to funnel to 
     himself at least $1 million meant for Industrial Energy 
     Users-Ohio, a consortium of large-scale energy buyers who he 
     represented in PUCO cases as an attorney.
       ``Public officials--whether elected or appointed--are 
     tasked with upholding the highest level of integrity in their 
     duties and responsibilities. Such service to the public must 
     be selfless, not selfish,'' the U.S. Attorney said in a 
     statement. ``Through the indictment unsealed today, we seek 
     to hold Randazzo accountable for his alleged illegal 
     activities.''
       Roger Sugarman, an attorney representing Randazzo in 
     criminal and civil lawsuits, declined to comment Monday. 
     Randazzo did not respond to questions posed by reporters.
       Randazzo's arraignment on Monday advanced a stunning fall 
     from grace from a once respected utility lawyer and lobbyist 
     with notorious influence at the Statehouse. He is often 
     credited with pushing for what would become state laws 
     constricting the growth of wind, solar, and energy efficiency 
     programs in Ohio. State lobbying records reflect years of 
     lobbying work on behalf of the Ohio Gas Company, Vectren 
     Energy and IEU. Now-state Sen. Shane Wilkin once told 
     Randazzo in an email that ``we already know you run the 
     energy world.'' He was a mainstay at IEU's regular ``Ohio 
     Energy Management Conference.''
       Gov. Mike DeWine, who appointed Randazzo, had dinner with 
     Jones and Dowling the same night as the latter pair's meeting 
     with Randazzo. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said Monday that 
     while the governor's office wasn't privy to the indictment 
     and was still reviewing it, ``the indictment alleges very 
     serious acts. Our office has full faith in the criminal 
     justice system to adjudicate these serious allegations in an 
     appropriate manner.''
       Many of the emails and text messages referenced in the 
     indictment to and from the former FirstEnergy executives and 
     Randazzo have previously been made public. However, the 
     indictment's details about his embezzlement charge are new, 
     according to Dave DeVillers, Parker's predecessor as U.S. 
     attorney.
       Randazzo resigned as PUCO chair in November 2020, days 
     after the FBI raided his Columbus townhouse. In the years 
     that followed, prosecutors were silent about Randazzo, 
     leading to questions about why they were taking so long to 
     decide whether to file charges.
       Ashley Brown, a former PUCO commissioner, said the delay 
     has cost the state's electricity customers, given that the 
     PUCO has paused its own investigations into the HB6 scandal 
     at Parker's request to wait for the federal corruption 
     investigation to wrap up.
       In the meantime, electricity customers have continued to 
     pay a fee contained in HB6 that subsidizes a pair of coal 
     plants owned by FirstEnergy and several other utilities.
       ``It's hard to imagine why he wasn't indicted earlier,'' 
     said Brown, who also questioned why no current or former 
     FirstEnergy officials have been charged so far.
       Asked about the length of time it took for charges to be 
     brought, DeVillers said, ``They could have been negotiating 
     with the defense attorney, they could have been talking to 
     him and it fell apart. And then it could be they dug into 
     this count [the embezzlement charge], which seems to be 
     completely different, and needed to ferret that out to find 
     out what that was all about.''
       Randazzo is already a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in 
     2021 by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. As part of that 
     case, a Franklin County judge ordered the seizure of up to $8 
     million worth of Randazzo's assets, though that decision is 
     still being appealed.
       Randazzo's indictment comes several months after ex-Ohio 
     House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in 
     prison for leading a $60 million bribery scheme using 
     FirstEnergy money to help pass House Bill 6, which included a 
     $1 billion-plus ratepayer bailout for two nuclear power 
     plants then owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary. Former Ohio 
     Republican Party Chair Matt Borges received 5 years in prison 
     for his role in the scandal; two others connected to the 
     bribery scheme have pleaded guilty and are awaiting 
     sentencing.
       FirstEnergy officials previously admitted that Randazzo 
     helped them to develop strategy and legal language for HB6.
       After HB6 passed, emails made public last year showed 
     Randazzo, as PUCO chair, worked behind the scenes to hinder 
     attempts to fully repeal the law, and he only grudgingly 
     called for state regulators to take limited action--asking 
     FirstEnergy to investigate itself over whether it misspent 
     any customer money--in response to negative press.
       To date, no current or former FirstEnergy officials, have 
     been charged in connection with the HB6 scandal or any of 
     Randazzo's alleged crimes.

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, FirstEnergy's plot was to foist its billion-
dollar-plus corporate losses on the consumers of Ohio due to its 
pitiful management of its two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio. 
These are crimes.
  While Randazzo was being indicted, the Federal Government moved to 
claim an additional $6.5 million from FirstEnergy for this crime. We 
should all be deeply disturbed that inherently dangerous nuclear assets 
have been in the hands of criminals.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an editorial titled: ``Finally, 
11 counts against ex-PUCO chief Sam Randazzo but why still none against 
then-FirstEnergy officials whose fingerprints are all over the case?''

            [From The Plain Dealer Cleveland, Dec. 6, 2023]

  Finally, 11 Counts Against Ex-PUCO Chief Sam Randazzo But Why Still 
None Against Then-FirstEnergy Officials Whose Fingerprints Are All Over 
                               the Case?

                          (By Editorial Board)

       Monday's unsealing of an 11-count federal conspiracy, 
     bribery, wire fraud and embezzlement indictment against 
     former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chief Samuel 
     Randazzo was a welcome sign of prosecutorial progress in the 
     FirstEnergy/House Bill 6 corruption case--but it's like the 
     first footfall in a long-delayed reckoning with some of the 
     key officials at the heart of the asserted conspiracy.
       Our editorial board had repeatedly urged the U.S. Attorney 
     for Southern Ohio, Ken Parker, to explain publicly why such a 
     long delay in a case whose first arrests--of five Statehouse 
     figures, including now-convicted former House Speaker Larry 
     Householder and former Ohio Republican Party chair Matt 
     Borges--came more than three years ago.
       And where is the second footfall--charges against any of 
     the FirstEnergy Corp. executives whose roles in paying out 
     the bribes and soliciting the corrupt actions by Randazzo and 
     others have been detailed in this and prior indictments?
       The Randazzo indictment refers to now-departed Executives 1 
     and 2 at Akron-based FirstEnergy--former CEO Chuck Jones and 
     former Senior Vice President for External Affairs Michael 
     Dowling--as those with the primary contacts with Randazzo 
     over the $4,333,333 bribe FirstEnergy Corp. previously 
     admitted paying Randazzo in a 2021 deferred prosecution 
     agreement.
       But they're clearly not the only FirstEnergy officials 
     privy to the laundry list of regulatory and legislative 
     favors Randazzo was helping the company secure, including a 
     lucrative decoupling accounting provision that PUCO staff 
     opposed, modifications to the state's ``significantly 
     excessive earnings test'' (SEET) that were added to the two-
     year state budget, and ``burning'' of

[[Page H6154]]

     a critical PUCO audit about FirstEnergy's distribution 
     modernization rider (DMR).
       According to the Randazzo indictment, ``On or about March 
     4, 2020, Executive 1 messaged another Company A executive: 
     ``He [Randazzo] will get it done for us but cannot just 
     jettison all process. Says the combination of over ruling 
     Staff and other Commissioners on decoupling, getting rid of 
     SEET and burning the DMR final report has a lot of talk going 
     on in the halls of PUCO about does he work there or for us? 
     He'll move it as fast as he can. Better come up with a short 
     term work around.''
       An indictment to shed light on the full scope of corruption 
     entailed in FirstEnergy's actions is needed.
       It's possible Parker's delay in indicting Randazzo over 
     bribes long since acknowledged by FirstEnergy and favors that 
     have come into clearer light in civil cases was because he 
     hoped to turn others into cooperating witnesses--or Randazzo 
     into one himself.
       Then there's the unexpected embezzlement charge against 
     Randazzo in the indictment, accusing him of defrauding 
     another client, the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, a group of 
     big energy customers, of $1,104,598.
       David DeVillers, the former U.S. Attorney for Southern Ohio 
     under whose leadership the corruption case was first 
     investigated and prosecuted, told cleveland.com's Jeremy 
     Pelzer, Andrew J. Tobias and Jake Zuckerman that the 
     embezzlement charge might have been the whammy in the mix, 
     taking time to sort out. ``It could be they dug into this 
     count, which seems to be completely different, and needed to 
     ferret that out to find out what that was all about,'' 
     DeVillers told the reporters.
       Either way, it is to be hoped that the indictment of 
     Randazzo will finally cause Parker to lift his effective hold 
     on important PUCO and other state-level investigations into 
     how both the PUCO and its processes, and the legislative 
     process separately, were so distorted and corrupted, so 
     reforms can be made. That's especially urgent given that 
     unrepealed parts of fatally tainted House Bill 6 right now 
     require electricity customers in Ohio to subsidize--to the 
     tune of more than $200 million so far, according to the Ohio 
     Office of Consumers' Counsel--two money-losing coal plants, 
     one in Indiana. Shining the full disinfectant of transparent 
     investigations on how all this came to be is a critical first 
     step to reform.

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, since the Davis-Besse plant came online in 
1977, its corporate leadership has never understood nuclear power or 
its dangers. It is only the unionized workers that have saved our 
lives. The plant shares an old Babcock-and-Wilcox design with the Three 
Mile Island reactor that partially melted down in 1979. Another plant 
with the design, the Rancho Seco plant in Sacramento, California, 
permanently closed in 1989.
  Davis-Besse itself is now nearly 50 years old and has a dismal 
reputation within the industry and a history of too many close calls. 
In 1985, the plant suffered a loss of the main and backup supplies of 
cooling water because of a series of system failures, and this should 
have been a wake-up call, but it went unheeded.
  In 2002, we faced the worst nuclear safety incident since Three Mile 
Island when a major hole was discovered in Davis-Besse's reactor head, 
endangering the lives of millions of Ohioans and the purity of Lake 
Erie. The plant's unionized workers again saved us all.
  The Davis-Besse nuclear power plant, with its history of safety 
violations and close calls, is a clear example of how corporate culture 
can influence safety culture for the worst, and the industry around our 
country never held them accountable.
  The fines and penalties imposed on FirstEnergy have done little to 
deter misconduct. It is time for us to take bold action and provide our 
region with safe, advanced, modern power in a platform akin to the 
Tennessee Valley Authority.
  So much more needs to be done to make our communities safe and whole 
from FirstEnergy's fraud, starting with making sure that the Benton-
Carroll-Salem school system where Davis-Besse is located can be made 
whole. The value of property in the region has gone down 90 percent, 
which means the school system is going to be nearly $6 million short on 
what it needs to teach the next generation.
  I urge judges in the case to take the grid under FirstEnergy's 
ownership under safe public conservatorship until a reliable operator 
can be stood up.
  May we find the wisdom and courage to confront these nuclear 
challenges head-on to usher in a new era of clean and responsible 
energy for the consumers and people of northern Ohio who have been 
bilked so royally over the last nearly half century.

                          ____________________