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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 30 OctOber 2020
2 Ohio political operatives plead guilty in bribery probe

By A. WELSH-HUGGINS middleman, participating
Associated Press in strategy meetings and
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — communicating with Enter-
Two Ohio political opera- prise members and associ-
tives pleaded guilty Thurs- ates regarding strategic
day to charges that they decisions," the government
conspired as part of what said in its July filing.
another defendant called Following a restructuring
an "unholy alliance" aimed in bankruptcy court, First-
at bailing out two aging Energy Solutions emerged
Ohio nuclear power plants, as a new, independently
court documents show. operated company called
Former Republican House Energy Harbor.
Speaker Larry Household- "Cespedes knew payments
er and four others were to Generation Now "were
charged with racketeering meant to help Household-
for their roles in the alleged er achieve political goals,
scheme, under a law fed- and in return, help pass
eral prosecutors typically and preserve the nuclear
use to charge gang mem- bailout legislation," the of-
bers. fice of U.S. Attorney David
The five are accused of DeVillers said in a state-
shepherding $60 million in ment Thursday.
energy company money Longstreth was a signer on
for personal and political In this April 12, 2005, file photo, operator Kevin Holko monitors the control room during a scheduled five bank accounts that
use in exchange for pass- refueling shutdown at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in North Perry, Ohio. received Generation Now
ing a legislative bailout of Associated Press money, according to the
two aging nuclear plants government. He's also ac-
and then derailing an at- spending. The government wrong. Juan Cespedes, on but are likely to receive cused of using at least $2
tempt to place a rejection says part of the scheme 41, a lobbyist described far shorter sentences. Black million of Generation Now
of the bailout on the ballot. involved bribing or other- by investigators as a "key didn't set sentencing dates. money for personal ben-
The government refers to wise discouraging signa- middleman," and Jeffrey FirstEnergy Solutions, a efit including $1 million to
the operation in court doc- ture gatherers from doing Longstreth, 44, a longtime wholly owned subsidiary his brokerage account and
uments as "the Enterprise." their job. Generation Now Householder political ad- of FirstEnergy involved in hundreds of thousands of
The government says the is charged as a corporation viser, pleaded guilty Thurs- nuclear generation, hired dollars on mortgage, car
energy company money in the case. day before federal Judge Cespedes in 2018 to pursue and credit card payments.
was funneled through Gen- An 82-page criminal com- Timothy Black in hearings the bailout that became Longstreth knew Genera-
eration Now, a group cre- plaint makes clear the en- held by video conference a law known as House Bill tion Now "would be used
ated to promote "social ergy company is FirstEnergy because of the coronavirus 6, according to a federal to receive bribe money to
welfare" under a provision and its affiliates. FirstEner- pandemic. criminal complaint filed in further Householder's bid
of federal tax law that gy's CEO has said he and Cespedes and Longstreth July. for Speaker of the House,"
shields its funding source or the company did nothing face up to 20 years in pris- Cespedes "served as a key DeVillers' office said.q
VMI to remove statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson

versity office. a better future. We care "Unlike many communities
The moves come as VMI, deeply about the individu- who are grappling with
the nation's oldest state- al experiences of all of our icons of the past, VMI has
supported military college, cadets and alumni," John direct ties to many of the
is facing an outside investi- William "Bill" Boland, presi- historical figures that are
gation into what Virginia of- dent of the Board of Visi- the subject of the current
ficials have characterized tors, said in a statement. unrest. Stonewall Jackson
as a culture of "structural Officials at the school pre- was a professor at VMI, a
racism." viously said they would co- West Point graduate who
VMI's superintendent, re- operate with an investiga- served in combat in the
tired Army Gen. J.H. Binford tion, but denied the allega- Mexican War, a military ge-
Peay III, resigned Monday, tion that the institution has nius, a staunch Christian,
a week after the investiga- systemic racial problems. and yes, a Confederate
In this July 15, 2020 file photo the statue of Confederate General tion was announced on the Amid a wave of Con- General," Peay wrote in
Stonewall Jackson stands behind canons at the entrance to the
barracks at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. heels of a story in The Wash- federate monument re- July.
Associated Press ington Post that described movals over the summer Wyatt wrote Thursday the
Black cadets and alumni sparked by the death of VMI administration will
LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — The person said. facing racist incidents such George Floyd, Peay had handle "the orderly move-
Virginia Military Institute's Spokesman William "Bill" Wy- as lynching threats and a announced the college ment of the statue." He
board voted Thursday to att said the board also vot- white professor reminiscing would change some of its said it would be put in an
remove a statue of Con- ed to take a number of oth- in class about her father's longstanding traditions but "appropriate location, per-
federate Gen. Thomas er steps toward addressing Ku Klux Klan membership. would not be removing haps the Battlefield at New
"Stonewall" Jackson that issues of diversity, including "VMI, like all aspects of soci- Confederate statues, in- Market." Dozens of VMI
currently stands in front of directing the adoption of ety, must honestly address cluding the Jackson statue cadets who fought in that
the historic barracks on a diversity hiring plan and historical inequities and be that until a few years ago 1864 battle were killed or
campus, a school spokes- creating a permanent di- intentional about creating cadets had to salute. wounded.q