CINCINNATI — A federal judge sentenced the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party to five years in prison on Friday, for his supporting role in a massive dark money corruption enterprise that was run by former House Speaker Larry Householder.
Lobbyist Matt Borges had hoped for a 12-month, plus one-day prison sentence, but U.S. District Judge Tim Black delivered the same ominous speech that he had given to Householder the day before and then ordered U.S. Marshals to take him into custody.
“We reap what we sow, we sleep in the bed we’ve made, we pay the dues that we have earned,” Black said. “The court and the community’s patience with all of this case … has expired.”
Borges seemed to expect the decision since two U.S. Marshals were already sitting in the courtroom. He stood up, removed his blazer and winked at his wife, Kate Borges, as he placed his hands behind his back for the U.S. Marshals to handcuff. He asked one of the marshals to remove his tie, and then was led out of the courtroom.
He and Householder will likely spend the next week at a local county jail before being transferred to federal prison.
Borges’ attorneys had asked the judge to allow Borges to surrender to his federal prison in 30 to 60 days, which is customary for white-collar criminal defendants. But the judge said no, just as he had for Householder on Thursday after he sentenced him to the maximum 20-year prison term.
“You’re not Larry Householder … you’re a guy with good connections who was willing to get your hands dirty,” Black said. “If you swim in a cesspool … you’re going to get poisoned. You should have known that. You did know that.”
A jury convicted Borges and Householder in March after a six-week trial that had 25 witnesses, thousands of pages of documents, and wiretapped recordings.
Prosecutors describe the plot as a “purposely complicated” conspiracy to disguise bribes through dark money, to pass what many describe as the worst energy policy in the nation — House Bill 6.
“Larry Householder was a crook and you knew it. An unholy alliance is what you called it. You told Tyler Fehrman, ‘Everyone is getting rich so why shouldn’t we,’ … those were your words,” Black said. “I’ll tell you why. Because it's unlawful.”
Prosecutors say Borges was part of a complex scheme to funnel $60 million in dark money from FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiary to elect Householder as speaker, solidify his power base, secure enough votes to pass a ratepayer-funded bailout of two nuclear plants worth $1.3 billion and ensure it survived a ballot campaign to overturn it.
While Borges wasn't part of the bribery and money laundering scheme when it began in 2016, he joined later to help defeat the ballot referendum and preserve the nuclear bailout and get paid through FirstEnergy money.
Prosecutors say he laundered FirstEnergy payments through his own account. He then used the money to bribe a former friend and political consultant, Tyler Fehrman for secret, real-time information to defeat the ballot initiative and keep House Bill 6 as law.
During his sentencing, Borges spoke to the judge and admitted he had made a mistake by calling Fehrman.
“No one had a gun to my head,” Borges said. “The bottom line is those conversations became a disaster beyond any proportion I could have imagined.”
Black called it, “your newfound remorse,” since Borges had refused a plea deal, opted not to testify at trial, publicly criticized Fehrman and prosecutors, and said he will appeal the sentence.
“I’m glad he showed remorse. I’m glad he apologized to the citizens of Ohio, I truly am,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Parker, who hopes this case is a deterrent for others who are considering public corruption.
“When you raise your right hand and take the oath of office to serve the great state of Ohio, you need to do that every day. And for those who do not, those who feel that democracy is for sale, that any vote they may have is for sale or their integrity, our office will seek to prosecute those individuals,” Parker said.
In all, Borges pocketed $360,000 in three months. He used additional bribe money to pay for consultants and private investigators to defeat the ballot campaign and spent thousands in political contributions to public officials, “who helped with the House Bill 6 referendum, including the attorney general, the secretary of state and Householder himself,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum.
“He knew when he entered this conspiracy that House Bill 6 was corrupt legislation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Singer, “and to be clear his efforts were successful.”
Ohioans never got the opportunity to vote on the future of House Bill 6, and parts of it remain law today, Singer said, “Ohioans are continuing to pay the price for his contribution to the enterprise.”
The most damaging testimony against Borges at trial came from Fehrman, who went to the FBI after he said Borges tried to bribe him for information about the ballot campaign to overturn HB 6, where he worked. Fehrman wore a wire for the FBI and many of those conversations were played at trial, including one in which Borges described Householder's relationship with FirstEnergy as an "unholy alliance."
“Matt’s requests of me were shocking. I felt like I was being taken advantage of someone I trusted,” Fehrman testified.
