New HBO documentary highlights 2019 Ohio House Bill 6 scandal
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. (Ohio House of Representatives.)
A two-part documentary, "The Dark Money Game," premiered on HBO on April 15, covering the House Bill 6 scandal and the role of dark money in politics.
The portion focusing on House Bill 6, titled "Ohio Confidential," features retired FBI agents along with former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers and others involved in the uncovering of the bribery scheme that resulted in former Speaker Larry Householder being sent to prison for 20 years.
"The Dark Money Game" features two documentaries, "Ohio Confidential" and "Wealth of the Wicked," both directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. The films investigate how an untraceable web of money from wealthy individuals and corporations flows through nonprofits and super PACs to support candidates and influence political movements.
In 2019, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder took $61 million in bribes in exchange for legislation to give FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named House Bill 6, co-sponsored by then Rep. (now state Senator) Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro, and Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord.
The scheme was revealed in three main ways – two separate whistleblowers and a phone wiretap.
In March 2023, a jury found Householder and former Ohio Republican Party leader Matt Borges guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for their involvement in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another dead by suicide.
In late June 2023, federal judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges got five years. The two surviving defendants took plea agreements early on, helping the FBI.
The scandal not only imprisoned Householder for 20 years but also led to two suicides – including that of indicted lobbyist Neil Clark and Sam Randazzo. Randazzo, who was Gov. Mike DeWine’s pick to chair the Public Utilities Commission, helped write and lobby for the bailout even though he was supposed to be a neutral regulator. FirstEnergy later said it paid a $4.3 million bribe to Randazzo, who died by suicide in April 2024.
House Bill 6 mainly benefited FirstEnergy's nuclear power plants, but those provisions were later repealed. There are aspects of the bill still in place.
For more on the documentary, go to https://www.hbo.com/the-dark-money-game ore https://www.hulu.com/.