FirstEnergy: Ohio regulator’s firm got $4M consulting fee
COLUMBUS, Ohio — "Fired former FirstEnergy executives improperly paid a firm tied to a future Ohio utility regulator about $4 million early last year to terminate “a purported consulting agreement” that had been in place since 2013, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities told federal regulators on Thursday.
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo was not mentioned by name in the company’s tardy quarterly report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, Randazzo fits the description of someone who 'subsequently was appointed to a full-time role as an Ohio government official directly involved in regulating' FirstEnergy. Randazzo was appointed chairman by Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Feb. 4, 2019."
—Julie Carr Smyth and Mark Gillispie, Associated Press