Jury can't reach verdict in corruption trial of 2 ex-FirstEnergy executives in $60M bribery scandal

COLUMBUS — Jurors failed to reach a verdict on Tuesday in the corruption trial of two fired FirstEnergy Corp. executives charged with alleged roles in a $60 million scheme to bribe politicians for a $1 billion nuclear bailout and other favors. The declaration of an impasse came after more than eight days of deliberations following the six-week trial in Akron of former CEO Chuck Jones and former senior vice president Michael Dowling. Over that time, the jury had repeatedly sent clarifying questions to Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross, who had once before sent them back into the deliberating room after they said they could not agree. Baker Ross said she would allow lawyers to confer with jurors if desired, meet with the attorneys to discuss next steps and decide later whether to declare a mistrial. "Let me kind of regroup here," she said. In a video statement, Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said, "The state of Ohio can and will retry these defendants. Justice needs to be done." John McCaffrey, one of the lawyers representing Dowling, said the defense would be "filing a motion for judgement of acquittal." The deadlock leaves Jones and Dowling in limbo for now, and comes as a rare blow to prosecutors — who long ago secured an admission from FirstEnergy that it underwrote the bribery scheme, and later saw former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating it. The scheme involved Householder electing allies, securing legislative power, passing the nuclear bailout bill and then using a dirty-tricks campaign to defend it from a citizen referendum. But the case against Jones and Dowling was more nuanced. The two were charged with felony corruption, bribery, conspiracy and aggravated theft for paying $4.3 million whose purpose was debated at trial to a man who was not yet in a position of influence — though he was well on his way. Prosecutors had argued that Jones and Dowling bribed Public Utilities Commission of Ohio chair-to-be Sam Randazzo for legislative and regulatory favors, most notably his work championing House Bill 6, a $1 billion bailout for two aging FirstEnergy-affiliated nuclear plants at the center of the bribery scheme. The defense, meanwhile, painted Randazzo as "a thief" and "a con man" who bore sole responsibility for the misuse of FirstEnergy money. They argued that the $4.3 million payment represented an above-board legal settlement to Randazzo for services he provided to the Akron-based power giant and that he alone was responsible for its illegal use. Randazzo was initially charged alongside Jones and Dowling, but he died by suicide after pleading not guilty. Jones' attorney, Carole Rendon, told the judge Tuesday that a mistrial should be declared due to insufficient evidence of bribery, the central charge, against her client. The highest profile witness to testify during the six-week trial was U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor who confirmed to jurors that he was present at a key Dec. 18, 2018, dinner between himself, then-Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, Jones, Dowling and Josh Rubin, who doubled as an advisor to the governor's campaign and a lobbyist for FirstEnergy. Rubin provided advice to the executives earlier that day on how to lobby DeWine to favor the company's preferences to chair the PUCO, according to a text contained in the criminal complaint. Rubin cautioned them not to mention to DeWine that they would be meeting Randazzo at his residence after the dinner. Later in the day, Randazzo texted Dowling a list of figures for the years 2019 through 2024, "Total 4,333,333." "Got it, Sam," Dowling replied. "Good seeing you as well. Thanks for the hospitality. Cool condo." The next day, Jones also texted Randazzo. "We're going to get this handled this year, paid in full, no discount," he wrote. "Don't forget about us or Hurricane Chuck may show up on your doorstep! Of course, no guarantee he won't show up sometime anyway." Randazzo replied, "Made me laugh — you guys are welcome anytime and anywhere I can open the door. Let me know how you want me to structure the invoices. Thanks."