Dirty Larry's cohort gets five years
NICOLE DIRKS
Toledo Blade
June 30, 2023
ndirks@theblade.com
ndirks@theblade.com
CINCINNATI — Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for his role in Ohio's largest bribery scandal.
Borges was ordered to be immediately taken into custody. He rose, took off his suit jacket, untied his tie, and winked at his wife, Kate Borges, seated behind him, before being handcuffed and escorted from the federal courtroom.
On Thursday, former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to the maximum — 20 years — for his role in a $61 million bribery and money laundering scheme spanning from 2016 to 2020. Both Householder and Borges had been charged on one count each of racketeering conspiracy.
Householder had requested a 12 to 18-month sentence, while the prosecution recommended 16 to 20 years. Borges had asked for a one-year, one-day sentence, while the prosecution recommended five to eight years.
But Borges’ sentence — the lower limit of the government’s recommendation — was attenuated by Borges’ statement before the Cincinnati court Friday. Borges acknowledged his decisions that facilitated and upheld the FirstEnergy bailout, despite not fully anticipating the weight of the consequences.
“No one held a gun to my head,” he said. “I owe the public an apology for acting out.”
To his friends, family, and colleagues, he said, “None of them are as disappointed in me as I am in myself.”
Judge Timothy Black interrupted Borges.
“That is what we call remorse,” Judge Black said. “That is a credit to you. Your conduct is not.”
Borges added that his family was facing financial hardship, exacerbated by the cost of legal proceedings, and that paying for the middle school tuition for his daughter had become a challenge.
“Your statement here today reached me,” Judge Black said. “What I learned about you..saved you from a sentence of 20 years.”
Mrs. Borges also spoke, with the judge’s permission. She described her husband as “a champion of the underdog” and a dedicated father, playing a crucial role in the life of their daughter with autism. “He [dives] into her head and draws her out,” she said.
“The morning that the FBI came and took him at 6 a.m., the same Matt Borges never came home,” she said, adding that her family has had “no chance to rebuild.”
She closed by citing words from her husband, who at 8 years old was quoted in a Rhode Island newspaper listing off things he’s grateful for: friends, family, school, the USA, and Ronald Reagan.
Judge Black told Mrs. Borges, “My heart goes out to you. My heart goes out to the people of Ohio as well.” He said he could not legally take into account Mr. Borges’ losses in his final sentence.
Both men aided Akron-based utility giant FirstEnergy Corp’s successful attempt to seek a $1.3 billion consumer-paid bailout of two subsidiary-owned nuclear power plants, then owned by a FirstEnergy subsidiary.
FirstEnergy had sought the bailout in exchange for funding Householder’s return to the speaker’s podium. In 2021, the utility giant admitted to bribery and paid a $230 million fine.
On Thursday, Householder’s position in a role of public trust and the bribery’s benefit to his political power was a focus as the judge announced his prison sentence.
Borges had aided Householder, laundering FirstEnergy money through his own account. He also attempted to bribe Tyler Fehrman, a Republican operative, to get information about the ballot campaign to overturn the legislation that enabled the FirstEnergy bailout. Borges also personally benefited in the amount of $366,000 to Householder’s $513,000.
But Judge Black distinguished between Householder, who he called “the mastermind” behind the scheme, and Borges.
“You didn’t swear an oath to the people of Ohio,” he said. “Your obligation was simply one that every human being carries.”
Judge Black’s reasoning for Borges’ sentence focused on his monetary benefit from the bribery scheme and his failure to allow Ohioans the opportunity to veto the bill that allowed FirstEnergy’s bailout to happen.
“Larry Householder was a crook and you knew it,” he said. “You just saw everybody else getting fat, cashing in, and you didn’t want to miss out on a chance to do the same.”
Judge Black did not dwell on Borges’ criminal history, including an expunged charge from 2004. Borges had then been found guilty of improperly using public office to give campaign donors preferential treatment at the treasurer’s office.
Judge Black quantified Borges’ involvement in the $61 million FirstEnergy bribery by adjusting it to the transactions that occurred in the timeframe during which Borges was involved in the scheme — between August and November 2019 — that amounted to $39 million.
Assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Singer said Borges’ individual case should be considered more heavily than two others — Juan Cespedes and Jeff Longstreth — who pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities as they await sentences of up to six months in prison.
Borges’ attorney, Karl Schneider, made an argument for Borges’ character in his private life amidst the political and legal drama of the last several years.
“One thing that is compelling to me,” Mr. Schneider said, “is he didn’t let that come home.” Describing Borges’ relationships with parents with dementia, Mr. Schneider said Borges “always put the good spin” on his political life to avoid making them worry.
He added that Borges would not be expected to be a risk in the future.
“Matt’s not any longer going to be in the political realm, probably,” he said, adding the caveat, “I mean we can’t predict the future.”
Mr. Singer highlighted the importance of preventing future corrupt politicians with Borges’ sentence. “It would deter other insiders involved in or tempted by corruption,” he said.
Judge Black agreed, adding that he sought to deter Borges himself from future offenses. He said that Borges should have known better.
“If you swim in a cesspool — even if it’s a cesspool you didn’t create — you’re going to get poisoned,” the judge said.
Read the rest of the article here.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 5:38 PM
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