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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The men at the center of Ohio’s biggest corruption scandal aren’t just getting their day in court – they’re getting special treatment. Former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling, accused of orchestrating one of the most extensive public corruption schemes in Ohio history, have been granted extraordinary privacy protections in their Summit County case. A recent Today in Ohio podcast episode dug into how these defendants are managing to keep massive amounts of evidence sealed from public view in a case that directly affected millions of Ohioans’ electric bills. “The public that paid the price for their corruption is being shut out of seeing the evidence,” said podcast host Leila Atassi. “I feel like it’s really telling that the judge keeps emphasizing how Jones and Dowling’s reputations are on the line as if that somehow tips the scales toward allowing this kind of secrecy.” The agreement allowing this unusual level of confidentiality was reached between the special prosecutor and defense attorneys, with Summit County Judge Susan Baker Ross’s approval. Either side could label materials as confidential simply by writing “confidential” on them – an arrangement the state now appears to regret. As fellow host Laura Johnston explained, “They’re not VIPs, they’re not special people, they’re criminal defendants like any other criminal defendant. And rules require that we do the public’s business in public forums, which makes sense.” The executives are accused of paying $4.3 million in bribes in 2019 to Sam Randazzo just before he was named head of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The case is part of a broader corruption scandal that has already seen former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder convicted and FirstEnergy admit to its role in the bribery scheme. Yet despite the public nature of the corruption, much of the evidence remains hidden. Defense experts’ opinions, interviews with potential witnesses, and testimony from Jones’ successor as FirstEnergy CEO are all currently under seal – inaccessible to the Ohioans who ultimately paid for the corruption through higher utility rates. What makes the situation even more perplexing is the judge’s claim that public awareness of the case is minimal. “What do you make of the judge saying that most people she talks to don’t even know what she’s referring to when she mentions this case?” Atassi asked her co-hosts. “I feel like that actually undercuts her whole justification for allowing so much evidence to be sealed. If public awareness is that low, how can she seriously claim the media coverage risks tainting a jury pool?” Johnston agreed, noting: “It’s hard to believe, though, that people don’t know what she’s talking about. This has been in the news for five and a half years at this point.” Listen to the full discussion here. Read more Today in Ohio news ‘It sounds like sci-fi’ -- but Ohio’s AI marriage ban might not be so crazy ‘Walking a fine line’: Ohio bill would let chaplains counsel public school students Can you put a price on history? The Shaker Lakes battle just might
