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Ohio can freeze ex-top utility regulator's $8 million in assets, high court says

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Ohio can freeze ex-top utility regulator's  million in assets, high court says


COLUMBUS, Ohio — The legal dispute over whether it was appropriate to freeze $8 million in personal assets belonging to a former top Ohio utility regulator caught up in a federal bribery investigation has ping-ponged once again.

In a ruling Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the Tenth District Court of Appeals’ decision and reinstated a lower court’s order, allowing Sam Randazzo’s assets to be frozen once again. The high court determined the appeals court erred on a technicality when it unfroze Randazzo’s property.

It’s just the latest development in the yearslong fight over property belonging to Randazzo, a one-time chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Federal prosecutors last month charged Randazzo with 11 counts in connection with an admission by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. that it paid him a $4.3 million bribe in exchange for favorable treatment. Randazzo has pleaded not guilty.

Writing for the majority, Justice Pat DeWine said the three-judge panel was wrong when it unfroze Randazzo’s assets in December 2022 — a decision that had been on hold amid the ongoing litigation. The panel reversed a lower court, finding that the state had not proven it would suffer “irreparable injury” if Randazzo were given control of his property.

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“The problem is that the irreparable injury showing was not appealable,” DeWine wrote.

Instead, when Randazzo wanted to object to a Franklin County judge’s unilateral decision from August 2021 granting Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s request to freeze his assets, the appropriate remedy would have been a full hearing before the trial court, the high court said. As a result, the court reversed the appellate court’s decision.

Yost made his request out of concern that Randazzo appeared to be scrambling to unload personal assets. He transferred a home worth $500,000 to his son and liquidated other properties worth a combined $4.8 million, sending some $3 million of the proceeds to his lawyers in California and Ohio.

During oral arguments in the case this summer, lawyers disagreed sharply over whether the assets should have been frozen. An attorney for Yost’s office told justices Randazzo was “spending down criminal proceeds” when the attorney general moved in to freeze his assets. Randazzo’s lawyer argued that the state needed more than “unsupported evidence” of a bribe to block Randazzo’s access to his property and cash.

Randazzo resigned as PUCO chair in November 2020 after FBI agents searched his Columbus home, close on the heels of the arrest of then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others.

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The bribe that FirstEnergy said it paid Randazzo was part of a scheme that a jury determined was led by Householder to win the speakership, elect allies, pass a $1 billion bailout of two aging FirstEnergy-affiliated nuclear plants and block a referendum to repeal the bailout bill.

Householder, a Republican, and lobbyist Matt Borges, a former chair of the Ohio GOP, were convicted on racketeering charges in March for their roles in the scheme. Householder, considered the ringleader, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Borges to five. Both are pursuing appeals.



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Ohio State’s Chip Kelly takes shot at Oregon: ‘You can’t stop us with 11′

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Ohio State’s Chip Kelly takes shot at Oregon: ‘You can’t stop us with 11′


Former Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly took a shot at his former football program on Saturday.

Ahead of Monday’s national championship game against Notre Dame, the current Ohio State offensive coordinator was asked about what motivated the Buckeyes entering their Rose Bowl matchup with Oregon — a 41-21 blowout win.

Kelly pointed to the 12 men on the field penalty taken intentionally by Dan Lanning and company during the two teams’ regular season matchup, which Oregon won, 32-31.

“I’ll tell you what, it was a unique message with our players: you can’t stop us with 11. You had to stop us with 12,” Kelly told reporters. “You saw the final results of 11 versus 11. So, that was a message to our team for the week leading up to the Rose Bowl that I think resonated really well with our guys.”

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Ohio State led 34-0 at one point in the first half against the Ducks, and superstar freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith was a major reason why. He finished with seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns vs. Oregon.

It was Kelly’s first win over the Ducks as an opposing coach: he was previously 0-5 against Oregon between his time as head coach at UCLA and offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes went on to beat Texas, 28-14, at the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl. They are 8.5-point favorites over the Fighting Irish in the national championship game.

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Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.



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What you need to know for Notre Dame vs. Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship

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What you need to know for Notre Dame vs. Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship
























What you need to know for Notre Dame vs. Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship | NCAA.com

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Luke Goode’s 3-pointer in OT lifts Indiana past Ohio State 77-76

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Luke Goode’s 3-pointer in OT lifts Indiana past Ohio State 77-76


Luke Goode stroked a 3-pointer with more than a minute left in overtime to give Indiana the lead and Anthony Leal blocked John Mobley Jr.’s jumper with a second left to allow Indiana to escape Ohio State with a 77-76 Big Ten Conference win Friday night.

Indiana (14-5, 5-3) now has won five of the last six meetings with the Buckeyes, including both games a year ago. Ohio State (10-8, 2-5) lost its third straight conference game, all by two points or less.

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Mobley hit a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 71-71. Indiana held the ball before Luke Goode drove for a layup that missed, Oumar Ballo got the offensive rebound but missed the put-back, rebounded again and missed a jumper. Ohio State rebounded but was unable to get off a shot as the clock ran out.

Ohio State took the lead, 76-74, on Bruce Thornton’s three-point play with 1:26 left in overtime. Indiana’s Myles Rice drove to the basket but missed a layup to tie the game, but Oumar Ballo came down with the offensive rebound and kicked the ball to a wide-open Goode on the wing for the game-winner. Mobley missed a 3-point attempt for Ohio State and Kanaan Carlyle drove the baseline and misfired on a short jumper with :14 left.

Goode finished with a career-high 23 points and Ballo scored a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds with four assists and two blocks for the Hoosiers. Carlyle added 13 points.

Mobley finished with 22 points to lead the Buckeyes. Micah Parrish added 19 and Thornton added 18.

Indiana plays at Northwestern Wednesday. Ohio State plays at No. 17 Purdue Thursday.

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Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Highlights | FOX College Hoops

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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