Police activity is being reported at Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s farm in Perry County and the U.S. Attorney’s office said it is holding a 2:30 p.m. press conference today related to $60 million in bribes paid to a state official and associates.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers are expected to brief the press on a federal racketeering case, a news advisory says.
A source familiar with the investigation said Householder and four others are in federal custody.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were at the Householder property in Glenford early this morning, said Perry County Sheriff Sgt. Brandon Forester. “I do not know any details on that. You need to contact the FBI. They wouldn’t release any information to us.”
FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said “The FBI is conducting law enforcement activity in the area.”
Householder could not be reached for comment.
Evan Machan, communications director for the Ohio Republican Party, said he would withhold comment until after the federal news conference today.
Householder, a farmer and businessman in Glenford, has led the GOP-controlled Ohio House since January 2019. He previously held the speaker’s gavel 2001 to 2004 but left due to term limits. He returned to the House in January 2017 and mounted a campaign to become the first lawmaker to recapture the speakership in nearly six decades.
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The speaker, who one of the three most powerful politicians in Ohio, wields enormous influence over how the state spends more than $140 billion and can halt any piece of legislation.
In addition to earning his lawmaker salary, Householder earned income from Householder Farms, Peoples State Bank, Peoples National Bancshares, Perry Warehouse Company Ltd, and Householder & Sons Family, according to his latest filing with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine postponed plans for a press conference on the coronavirus crisis this afternoon due to the U.S. Attorney’s 2:30 media briefing.