Motion denied, ex-Ohio GOP chair headed to sentencing
COLUMBUS — A federal judge on Monday rejected an attempt by former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges to challenge his recent racketeering conviction based on a pair of recently decided U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black determined that Borges let two deadlines to file motions challenging decisions made during his corruption trial with former House Speaker Larry Householder pass and that the two high court rulings do not justify reopening that window.
Borges is still on track for sentencing on June 30, the day after Householder is to be sentenced. Both could face as much as 20 years in prison.
“...the court finds that the rulings are inapplicable to defendant Borges’ conviction and, thus, there has been no relevant change in case law that would warrant reopening the post-trial motion period,” Judge Black wrote. “In other words, defendant is in the same position today as he was on April 24, 2023 (when the second motion deadline passed), and therefore no ‘excusable neglect’ occurred.”
Householder and Borges were convicted in March of a single count each of racketeering conspiracy stemming from a $61 million bribery scheme that was almost entirely fueled by utility giant FirstEnergy Corp.
The scheme involved returning Householder as powerful Speaker of the House so that he could help steer passage of a $1 billion, consumer-financed bailout of two struggling Lake Erie nuclear power plants that were then owned by a company subsidiary.
The scheme then pivoted to killing a petition effort that could have led to a ballot issue to repeal the unpopular law. It was at this stage that Borges played his primary role, paying a $15,000 bribe to a manager of the petition campaign for inside information.
Borges’ attorney, Karl Schneider, had let the deadlines pass without filing challenges to the trial because they’d already raised before and during the trial and Judge Black had already ruled. The focus at that stage was on the appeal that would be mounted in higher court following sentencing.
But Schneider argued that things changed on May 11 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned two public corruption convictions out of New York. He argued that those decisions “stab directly at the heart” of Borges’ conviction.
Both cases involved elements of wire fraud that were also elements of the racketeering charges against Borges and Householder along with other actions like bribery and money laundering.
In both cases, the judge said the arguments that led to the overturning of the New York convictions were not on target with Borges’ case.