New charges filed against former Ohio House Speaker

COLUMBUS — A former Ohio House Speaker, who is already facing 20 years in prison, has had additional charges filed against him.

Attorney General Dave Yost announced that Larry Householder was indicted on multiple state felony charges, including one count that would permanently ban him from holding public office again in Ohio.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to 20 years in prison

Householder was indicted on the following charges:

• Theft in office
• Aggravated theft
• Telecommunications fraud
• Money laundering
• Tampering with records

A conviction for theft in office would forever disqualify him from public office, public employment or a position of trust in the state.

Householder was convicted on federal charges last year, but those convictions do not legally prevent him from running again for public office.

He was sentenced by a federal judge to 20 years in prison last year for his role in taking around $60 million from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for orchestrating a scheme to elect Householder as speaker and his allies to House seats, allowing them to then pass a $1.3 billion bailout bill for two Ohio nuclear power plants.

“State crimes have state penalties, and a conviction will ensure that there will be no more comebacks from the ‘Comeback Kid,’” Yost said.

We will continue to follow this story.

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