Jurors in Akron, Ohio, started deliberations Tuesday in a corruption trial involving two former executives at FirstEnergy Corp., with prosecutors arguing they helped corrupt Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission chair-to-be, Sam Randazzo, in connection with legislation that paved the way for a lucrative bailout of nuclear plants. The charges center on an alleged $4.3 million payment that prosecutors say was structured to influence Randazzo’s role in shaping regulatory outcomes and House Bill 6, a state law tied to FirstEnergy’s fate.
The case involves Former CEO Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling, the company’s former senior vice president. Both defendants face corruption, bribery, conspiracy and aggravated theft charges, and both have pleaded not guilty, according to testimony and the arguments presented during the trial’s closing phase. The jury began deliberating after closing arguments that spanned two days, with prosecutors making their closing case aimed at proving the executives acted for their own benefit.
Prosecutors said the bribery scheme was part of a broader effort tied to a $60 million plan that, in their description, helped result in a favorable outcome for two nuclear plants affiliated with the company. During closing arguments, Special Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer told jurors that the defendants “rigged a process that was supposed to be fair for everyone. Their corruption here was using power, influence and money for personal and corporate greed,” and he said the defendants behaved “like they were untouchable” by structuring the timing and labels of a payoff to Randazzo.
The state’s argument linked FirstEnergy’s gain to the defendants’ alleged goal of securing Randazzo’s assistance, particularly in the period surrounding House Bill 6 and subsequent regulatory favors, prosecutors said. The presentation included evidence and testimony described by prosecutors as showing that the defendants had a detailed plan to enrich themselves while taking advantage of Ohioans, including reference to communications used to support that portrayal of intent.
In contrast, the defense challenged the prosecution’s central premise that Dowling intended for the $4.3 million to go to Randazzo. Jones’ attorney, Carole Rendon, told jurors on Tuesday, “Chuck Jones did not bribe Sam Randazzo,” adding that he “made a legitimate business decision to terminate a settlement agreement that was for Sam Randazzo’s clients, the members of IEU-Ohio.” Rendon’s argument tied the payment to a settlement decision rather than a bribery agreement, and the defense emphasized the timing.
Dowling’s defense likewise argued that the state did not meet the required burden of proof. Steven Grimes told jurors on Monday that the state failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, saying that much of the prosecution’s case relied on an assumption about the payment’s intended destination that he said contradicted the evidence. He also told jurors the defense believed prosecutors cherry-picked a series of events from years earlier to portray a conspiracy among Dowling, Randazzo and Jones, even though the defense said the evidence did not show with certainty that such a conspiracy occurred.
Grimes also urged jurors to resist what he described as unsupported assumptions. “I’ve been fighting for Mike for a long time. And this is it. I’m done fighting. I get to turn it over to now,” he told jurors. “You guys are the safeguards. You’re the constitutional protection that Mike has. You’re what he’s got. And so when you go back there in your jury room, please demand the details. Don’t compromise. Listen. Respect your fellow jurors. Talk it out. But don’t accept these assumptions. Keep up the fight for Mike. Send him home.”
The prosecution’s evidence included text messages and other materials it said showed how the former executives handled discussions and advice related to then-Gov.-elect Mike DeWine and then-Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted, a current U.S. senator who testified at the trial. Prosecutors also pointed to evidence from postelection meetings, presenting it as support for their claim that the executives planned to corrupt and benefit from Randazzo’s position.
The trial came after FirstEnergy admitted as part of a nonprosecution agreement in 2021 to underwriting the broader $60 million scheme described by prosecutors, which involved former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and allies. Householder was convicted of racketeering in 2023 alongside lobbyist and former Ohio Republican Party chair Matt Borges, with Householder sentenced to 20 years in prison and Borges receiving five years. Two other political operatives pleaded guilty, and a dark money group admitted in court to acting as a conduit for cash, while another Householder associate charged in the scheme, powerful Statehouse lobbyist Neil Clark, died by suicide in 2021.
Randazzo, prosecutors said, became a central figure in the allegations, and he took his own life in 2024 after pleading not guilty to a range of state and federal charges. The trial’s record also reflected that some details of the case over the past five years were not presented to jurors in Akron, where Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross has overseen the proceedings for about six weeks.