Sam Randazzo Archives - Tennessee Star

Renacci Alleges DeWine Ignored Warnings of Corruption, Asks What Else Did He Know About the FirstEnergy Scandal

April 7, 2022April 8, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

In a Wednesday press release, a former U.S. Congressman and current gubernatorial candidate slammed incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for allegedly turning a blind eye to warning signs regarding the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) who was part of the FirstEnergy corruption scandal.

“Why did Mike DeWine ignore a 200-page warning about Sam Randazzo’s unethical behavior and appoint him to lead the Public Utilities Commission anyway?” said Jim Renacci in the release. “What else did DeWine know about FirstEnergy’s scandalous corruption? There are still several unanswered questions about this scheme that frauded Ohio taxpayers. With every new court filing, news report, or resignation, the FirstEnergy noose keeps tightening around Mike DeWine. Enough is enough: conservatives have a chance next month to vote for real accountable conservative leadership and put an end to Mike DeWine’s 40-year corrupt establishment career.”

The comments came on the heels of a news story published in The Ohio Capital Journal claiming that DeWine was in possession of a 198-page dossier “alleging Sam Randazzo – a lawyer and lobbyist who represented gas companies and industrial scale electricity buyers – used businesses registered in his name to ‘funnel’ money from FirstEnergy to buy real estate.”

Ohio AG’s Office Freezes $3 Million in Sam Randazzo’s Assets in Case Related to House Bill 6 Probe

September 25, 2021September 24, 2021 Brian Ball

The office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has frozen more than $3 million in assets of former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo as part of a state civil lawsuit tied to the ongoing federal criminal probe of a Statehouse corruption scheme.
Yost’s office also has sought a court order to appoint a receiver to go after another $3 million in assets Randazzo allegedly had transferred to accounts his attorneys control immediately after Yost had announced he had a court order to seize up to $8 million in assets in a mid-August.

Renacci Asks Ohio Attorney General, Secretary of State to Investigate Sources of DeWine Campaign Cash

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 Brian Ball

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci has asked Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose to open another line of investigation into the FirstEnergy Corp. public corruption scandal and incumbent GOP Governor Mike DeWine’s re-election campaign.

Renacci transmitted the joint letter to the Republican statewide officeholders Monday late afternoon in the latest attack attempting to more closely tie DeWine and the corruption scheme from the House Bill 6 passed in July 2019. FirstEnergy pushed the legislation to allow it to tap Ohio electric customers both inside its service territory and that of other investor-owned electric utilities to financially support its two old nuclear power plants located along the Lake Erie shores to the tune of $1.1 billion.

Ohio Attorney General Yost Hunts for Ex-PUCO Chairman’s Assets to Preserve Potential Civil Judgments

August 14, 2021August 13, 2021 Brian Ball

“(Sam) Randazzo is making moves that will make it harder to hold him financially accountable for accepting bribes,” Yost said in a Friday morning news release

Ex-PUCO Chairman Randazzo Added to Ohio AG’s Racketeering Lawsuit in FirstEnergy Case

August 6, 2021August 5, 2021 Brian Ball

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has expanded a civil racketeering lawsuit tied to the federal FirstEnergy Corp. public corruption case to include the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and two fired executives of the Akron, Ohio-based electric utility.

The addition of energy consultant and attorney Sam Randazzo, former FirstEnergy CEO Charles Jones, and Vice President Michael Dowling comes just a few weeks after the utility cut a deal with federal prosecutors where it admitted its role in the scandal and paid a $230 million fine in a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice.

GOP Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Renacci Blasts Gov. DeWine in Expanding FirstEnergy Scandal

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 Brian Ball

COLUMBUS, Ohio – FirstEnergy Corp.’s agreement this week to pay a $230 million fine in the ongoing federal investigation into an Ohio Statehouse bribery scheme has generated more criticism from GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci who is seeking to take the 2022 Republican nomination from incumbent Governor Mike DeWine.…

DOJ Charges FirstEnergy with ‘Conspiring to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud’ in Ohio, Company Agrees to Pay $230 Million Penalty

July 23, 2021July 23, 2021 Ohio Star Staff

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced on Thursday that FirstEnergy, the energy company at the center of a public corruption investigation, was charged federally with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and has agreed to pay a $230 million monetary penalty.

Report: Energy Company at Center of FBI Case Funneled $1 Million to DeWine Election Efforts

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 Jack Windsor

It’s been over seven months since the FBI announced a criminal complaint stemming from Ohio House Bill 6 (HB6). Arrests were made for what feds call a bribery and racketeering plan bankrolled by First Energy Solutions to elect state representatives and a House Speaker that would ensure the bill passed (and stopped efforts to repeal it) – giving a $1.3 billion bailout to two Ohio nuclear energy plants.
A new report lays out the $1M relationship between First Energy companies and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s campaign.

Ohio Gov. DeWine Rejects Utility Commission Candidates

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Jack Windsor

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Governor Michael DeWine wrote a letter to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Nominating Commission Wednesday telling them to offer new candidates for the vacancy left by the resignation of former PUCO Chairman Samuel Randazzo. DeWine rejected the slate of four finalists screened by…

Following FBI Search of His Home, Ohio PUCO Chairman Resigns

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 The Center Square

Four days after FBI agents removed boxes from his home, and three days after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he didn’t see any indication the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chairman was a target of an investigation, Sam Randazzo resigned as chairman Friday.