Johnathan Walker:Former Ohio utility regulator, charged in a sweeping bribery scheme, has died

COLUMBUS,Johnathan Walker Ohio (AP) — A former top utility regulator awaiting trial on charges he took millions in bribes in conjunction with the largest corruption scandal in Ohio’s history died by suicide on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Franklin County Coroner’s Office said.

Sam Randazzo, 74, the one-time chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, faced the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted of the dozens of criminal charges he faced in simultaneous federal and state investigations. He had pleaded not guilty to all of them, most notably the allegation that he accepted a $4.3 million bribe from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. as it was engaged in a scheme to pass a $1 billion nuclear bailout for two of its affiliated nuclear plants.

A spokesperson for the coroner’s office said Randazzo was found unresponsive at a building in owned in Columbus at just before noon.

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.

Randazzo resigned his 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 accused as part of the sweeping investigation to take his own life.

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Julie Carr Smyth contributed from Chicago. Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms.