FirstEnergy says it paid a bribe of more than $4 million dollars to Sam Randazzo before he became chair of the state's utilities regulator. Gov. Mike DeWine says he didn't know about the bribe, but insists that Randazzo's past work with FirstEnergy was common knowledge - a claim others are disputing. Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports.
Democratic Representative Casey Weinstein, who sat through Randazzo's committee testimony on the nuclear bailout law at the center of the federal corruption case, says DeWine's comments that "everyone knew" Randazzo used to work for FirstEnergy strain credulity.
"We had some suspicions and some idea that Randazzo had a connection to FirstEnergy. But we simply couldn't pin him down on that."
While documents later reveal Randazzo's past with FirstEnergy, he did not disclose that information outright on his cover letter to the PUCO nominating council or during testimony on the law in 2019. Randazzo has not been charged with any crimes.
