After seven weeks of testimony, a jury has found former House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican Chairman Matt Borges guilty of bribery and racketeering.
On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the verdict and what to expect going forward.
The verdict is in
It took the jury about nine hours to reach its verdict. They agreed with prosecutors who said Householder coordinated and Borges participated in a $61 million scheme to get Householder elected speaker, pass a $1 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants and then defeat an effort to repeal the bailout.
After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said Householder sold the statehouse and Borges was a willing co-conspirator. He called the verdict a victory for the people of Ohio.
While leaving the courthouse, Householder said he "absolutely" will appeal.
Snollygoster of the week
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has said Ohio's election system is very secure, but he still pushed for requiring photo ID for voters and other voting regulations.
Now LaRose is threatening to pull Ohio out of a national bi-partisan voter registration program called ERIC. Just last month, he called the system one of the best fraud-fighting tools for finding people voting in multiple states.
Why the switch? Why threaten to leave a system that’s been a great benefit? Well, Frank LaRose is said to be considering running against U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown next year and he’ll have to get through the Republican primary to get there.
If you have a suggestion for our "Snollygoster of the Week" award, a question or a comment, send them to snollygoster@wosu.org.