OHIO — Former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, who was recently indicted in the House Bill 6 scandal, has died by suicide, according to the Franklin County Coroner's Office.
The Franklin County Coroner's Office said Randazzo was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning by the Columbus Division of Police. He was found in a warehouse he owned at 492 East Mound Street in Columbus, according to the coroner's office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, Ohio Attorney General's Office and office of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who initially appointed Randazzo to the PUCO, all declined immediate comment.
In February, Randazzo, 74, was facing 22 felony counts related to the House Bill 6 scandal, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. He was accused of taking $4.3 million from former FirstEnergy Executive CEO Chuck Jones and former Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling to help the company with the $1 billion bailout of the state's two nuclear plants.
Court documents allege Randazzo filtered the money into two sham accounts, in which FirstEnergy is accused of using to deposit the checks to Randazzo. He had denied the allegeations and pleaded not guilty in court.
FirstEnergy has admitted to using dark money groups to fund a $60 million bribery plot that allowed former Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to win the speakership, elect his allies and pass and defend a $1 billion nuclear bailout bill, known as House Bill 6, for two of its affiliated nuclear plants.
A jury convicted Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges last year on federal racketeering charges for their roles in the scheme. Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Borges to five. Both have appealed.
Randazzo resigned his regulatory post in November 2020 after FBI agents searched his Columbus townhome and FirstEnergy revealed in security filings what it said were bribery payments of $4.3 million for his future help at the commission a month before DeWine nominated him as Ohio’s top utility regulator.
He is the second person that was accused as part of the sweeping investigation to take his own life. Long-time Statehouse lobbyist Neil Clark, one of the five people initially arrested in the probe in July 2020, died by suicide in March 2021 after pleading not guilty. The remaining two men, Juan Cespedes and Jeffrey Longstreth, pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government in the ongoing inquiry.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.