Two former FirstEnergy executives have been re-indicted on public corruption charges connected to the House Bill 6 scandal.
A Summit County grand jury indicted Charles “Chuck” Jones, former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Michael Dowling, the company’s former senior vice president of external affairs, on a combined 22 felony counts. Jones and Dowling were named as co-defendants on five of the charges.
Dowling has been indicted on 19 counts:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud
- One count of conspiracy
- One count of bribery
- 14 counts of tampering with records
Jones has been indicted on eight counts:
- One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
- Two counts of telecommunications fraud
- One count of conspiracy
- One count of bribery
- One count of tampering with evidence
- Two counts of obstructing justice
In March, Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross declared a mistrial after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the pair's first trial.
Jones and Dowling were accused of paying a $4.3 million bribe to the late Sam Randazzo as he became Public Utilities Commission chair while the $1 billion nuclear power plant bailout known as House Bill 6 was coming forward.
Attorneys for Jones and Dowling said Randazzo wasn’t a public official when they paid him money that was intended for clients he was representing, and said Randazzo stole it.
Randazzo committed suicide in 2024 after pleading not guilty alongside Jones and Dowling.
Jones and Dowling also face federal charges in connection with the House Bill 6 scandal.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio GOP chair Matt Borges were convicted on similar charges in federal court in 2023 in connection with pushing HB 6 through the legislature. Householder, who's in prison on a 20-year sentence, is also facing state charges of misuse of campaign money and ethics violations. FirstEnergy struck a plea deal on federal charges in 2021, paying $230 million in that agreement.
