Jury Delivers Verdict in Ohio’s Largest Corruption Case: Former Ohio State House Speaker Larry Householder and Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Participate in Racketeering Enterprise Involving Bribery and Money Laundering.

Today, a jury in Cincinnati found former Ohio State House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering. This verdict is the result of a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in Ohio’s history.

The jury deliberated for 9.5 hours over two days before delivering the verdict. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said the government’s prosecution team showed that Householder had “sold the Statehouse, and thus he ultimately betrayed the people of the great state of Ohio he was elected to serve.”

The bribery scheme involved Householder and his associates receiving money from a company called Generation Now in exchange for Householder’s support of a $1 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants. The money was used to fund a campaign to elect Householder and his allies to the Ohio House of Representatives, as well as to pay for other political activities.

The verdict sends a strong message that illegal acts will not be tolerated in Ohio. Householder and Borges will face sentencing at a later date. The maximum sentence for the charges is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.