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Was FirstEnergy a victim? When will the accused ex-executives be tried?

Online Niel November 15, 2024

A hearing Friday afternoon in Summit County Common Pleas Court will address FirstEnergy’s status as a victim in the House Bill 6 scandal.

State prosecutors have labeled FirstEnergy as a victim in their case against former CEO Chuck Jones and former senior vice president of external affairs Michael Dowling, in which the executives are accused of bribing a state regulator. But the defendants struggles with this designation.

Through his lawyers, Dowling also filed subpoenas for more information from three people the prosecution plans to call as expert witnesses. Judge Susan Baker Ross will hear motions by the prosecution and attorneys representing one of the potential witnesses to quash — meaning quash or quash — the subpoena. Prosecutors and attorneys for the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) wrote in court filings that Dowling’s subpoena requests amounted to a “fishing expedition.”

A hearing is also scheduled for Friday on how additional and amended charges against Jones and Dowling were obtained. Attorneys for the accused questioned in a court filing whether the state “improperly influenced” a grand jury that produced a supplemental indictment.

Spokesmen for the Ohio attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to the Beacon Journal’s request for comment on whether decisions on those matters could be made Friday. A spokesman for the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, which is also involved in the prosecution, declined to comment to the Beacon Journal, citing the office’s policy not to comment on open cases. The Beacon Journal also reached out to several defense attorneys in the case, who did not immediately respond.

The defense disputes FirstEnergy’s portrayal of the victim

Attorneys for Jones and Dowling wrote in a May court filing that FirstEnergy has already pleaded guilty to paying a $4.3 million bribe to former Ohio Public Utilities Commission Chairman Sam Randazzo.

Defense attorneys said in the filing that the state’s designation of FirstEnergy as the victim is based on the mistaken idea that the $4.3 million used to make the payment in question was stolen from FirstEnergy.

Marsy’s Law, cited in court filings, gives crime victims various rights, including providing information about negotiated pleas and receiving restitution for economic losses, according to the Ohio Supreme Court website.

Prosecutors wrote in a May court filing that “one count of theft charges Jones and Dowling with stealing money from FirstEnergy and/or its stockholders (sic) without consent and using it for an illegal purpose “.

Who are Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling?

Jones started with FirstEnergy in 1978 as a substation engineer. He rose through the ranks to the CEO in 2015.

Dowling joined FirstEnergy in 1986 in the communications department and has since held several positions there, including as a lobbyist. As senior vice president of external affairs, he was FirstEnergy’s top lobbyist.

Jones and Dowling are accused of bribing Randazzo $4.3 million to work on behalf of FirstEnergy in Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Randazzo, who was also accused, died in April.

A separate, federal process filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September accused Jones of participating in a corrupt FirstEnergy scheme to pay about $60 million to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and misleading an auditor FirstEnergy by not disclosing the payments.

In 2023, Householder was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison for leading a $60 million bribery scandal to save two nuclear plants from House Bill 6 and for giving FirstEnergy another favorable treatment. House Bill 6 was introduced and signed into law in 2019.

What will be discussed on Friday?

The three subpoenas to be served on Friday were filed by the defense against three of the prosecution’s potential expert witnesses. Those potential witnesses are Maureen Willis, director of the OCC; George Jonson, a partner at Montgomery Jonson LLP, who was asked by the state to testify about legal ethics; and Courtney Beckett, a forensic accountant with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The prosecution moved to quash the subpoenas for Jonson and Beckett; OCC attorneys moved to amend the subpoena for Willis, deeming Dowling’s requests for various documents “unreasonable and burdensome.”

Baker Ross decided in September that it would privately review the documents for which Dowling had issued subpoenas to determine whether they would be released, according to a court filing.

Will there be a trial, and if so, when?

Prosecutors anticipate a trial in the case in Summit County Common Pleas Court in early to mid-2025, according to a filing signed by Senior Deputy Attorney General Matthew Meyer.

In that case, Jones faces three counts of wire fraud, two counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of grand larceny of $1.5 million or more, one count of conspiracy, four counts of of money laundering and two counts of bribery.

Dowling faces all of the same charges in addition to two counts of falsifying records. However, one of Dowling’s four money laundering charges is a fifth degree felony and his other three are third degree felonies, while all four of Jones’ money laundering charges are felonies of the third degree.

In June, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Dowling plans to call DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to the witness stand.

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.