The $4.3 million that Akron-based FirstEnergy paid veteran utility lawyer Sam Randazzo in 2019 is at the center of another criminal trial tied to Ohio's sweeping $60 million bribery scandal.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, plus one year of probation, for his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history.

The largest corruption case in Ohio history culminated last week with guilty verdicts for the ex-House Speaker and a lobbyist who was the former head of the Republican Party.

Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican chair Matt Borges have been convicted in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history.

A FirstEnergy Corp. executive says an arm of the utility was “bleeding cash” as it explored options for two aging nuclear plants eventually rescued by Ohio House legislation at the center of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder's corruption trial.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder says he is optimistic as his federal racketeering trial begins.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder goes on trial next week in a case that alleges a $60 million bribery scheme federal prosecutors call the largest corruption case in state history.

The energy giant at the center of a $60 million bribery scheme in Ohio has admitted to using dark money groups to fund the effort, and agreed to pay $230 million and other conditions so prosecutors won’t forge ahead with a criminal case against the company.

FILE - Republican Ohio state Rep. Larry Householder sits at the head of a legislative session as Speaker of the House, in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. Householder, who is accused in a $60 million federal bribery probe, was removed from his leadership position on July 30, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)COLUMBUS, Ohio The former speaker of the Ohio House pleaded not guilty Thursday to a federal corruption charge tied to an alleged $60 million bribery scheme. Thats what we are, trial lawyers. Were not plea-bargain lawyers; were trial lawyers, and thats whats going to happen here.He declined to discuss details of the case.

Ohio State Rep. Bob Cupp answers questions from the media, Thursday, July 30, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio House ousted its Republican speaker, Rep. Larry Householder, as the chamber's top leader in a historic, unanimous and bipartisan vote Thursday after he was charged in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme. Householder is the first Ohio House speaker ever removed by the chamber, according to the Ohio History Connection. (AP Photo/Farnoush Amiri)COLUMBUS, Ohio In a historic, unanimous and bipartisan vote Thursday, the Ohio House ousted its Republican speaker as the chamber's top leader following his indictment in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme. Rep. Larry Householder is the first Ohio House speaker ever removed by the chamber, according to the Ohio History Connection.

Householder surged to power with his election as House speaker in January 2019, and FirstEnergy got its bailout. It painstakingly details how the alleged conspiracy to spend $60 million of the corporation's money unfolded. Householder spent around $500,000 of FirstEnergy money to settle a business lawsuit, pay attorneys, deal with expenses at his Florida home and pay off credit card debt. According to the affidavit, Longstreth wired $1 million to his personal brokerage account as the scheme wound down. Once the House approved the bill, $7.4 million was spent on a pressure campaign to convince the Senate to follow suit.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, center, leaves the federal courthouse after an initial hearing following charges against him and four others alleging a $60 million bribery scheme Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. After 10 consecutive votes in which another man had garnered more support than Larry Householder's favored candidate to be the next Ohio House speaker, Householder leaned back quietly in his chair, arms confidently propped behind his head. The previous House speaker had resigned amid scandal. Two icons of Ohio politics four-term governor James Rhodes and Democrat Vern Riffe, the battleground state's longest-serving House speaker were from the same eastern Ohio region. Im distraught that the school funding issue is not yet resolved, and I think Larry Householder had in mind resolving it, he said.

FILE This April 4, 2017, file photo shows the entrance to FirstEnergy Corp.'s Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio. The state should be encouraging renewable energy development in Ohio as part of its overall energy plan, Lanese said. But Lanese and Republican Rep. Rick Carfagna believe the whole bill has been tainted by the criminal investigation revealed Wednesday. "From the beginning, this bill and the intention of this bill were not for Ohio but for a select group," Kunze said Thursday. Previous attempts to bail out the nuclear plants had stalled in the Legislature before Householder became speaker.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder leaves the federal courthouse after an initial hearing following charges against him and four others alleging a $60 million bribery scheme Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. Federal prosecutors say Republican Speaker Larry Householder and four others including a former state GOP chairman perpetrated a $60 million federal bribery scheme connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohios two nuclear power plants. The scandals potential political fallout for Republicans was evidenced by the swift rebukes of Householder by politicians and party leaders alike. Practically before hed left the federal courthouse Tuesday, a whos who of top Republican brass was calling for Householders resignation. Still, the cast of characters caught up in the government's bribery investigation reflects Ohio's political complexities when it comes to Trump.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder leaves the federal courthouse after an initial hearing following charges against him and four others alleging a $60 million bribery scheme Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)COLUMBUS, Ohio A nuclear plant bailout law should be repealed immediately, Democratic members of the Ohio House announced Wednesday as a bribery scandal involving one of the states most powerful lawmakers unfolded over the laws passage. The announcement came a day after Larry Householder, the Republican speaker of the Ohio House, and four associates were arrested in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to the taxpayer-funded bailout. Previous attempts to bail out the nuclear plants had stalled in the Legislature before Householder became speaker. Repealing the law quickly won't be easy, and is complicated by support the law received in the House, both from Householder-backed Republicans and Democrats persuaded to support the measure.