Cincinnati.com Local Politics:How Ohio's top utility regulator got caught up in pay-to-play scandal

Ex-PUCO chairman Sam Randazzo was among Ohio's brightest minds on energy policy. So how did he get caught up in the state's largest scandal? ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ [Read in browser]( Local Politics Sun Apr 21 2024 [How Ohio's top utility regulator got caught up in pay-to-play scandal]( [Former Public Utilities Chairman Sam Randazzo and his wife Carol Farmer leave Summit County Court after an arraignment hearing before Judge Susan Baker Ross on charges related to the FirstEnergy scandal on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Akron, Ohio. [Phil Masturzo/ Beacon Journal]]( Ex-PUCO chairman Sam Randazzo was among Ohio's brightest minds on energy policy. So how did he get caught up in the state's largest scandal? [READ MORE]( Advertisement [Demolition continues at the former Coney Island Sunlite Pool in Anderson Township, Ohio, on Friday, March 22, 2024. Demolition of Coney Island's Sunlite Pool began Thursday, despite advocates’ efforts to raise money to buy the iconic Cincinnati structure and get elected officials to help save it.]( [Get over it, Sunlite Pool fans, and other opinions you read the most]( Opinion: Round up of the most-read letters to the editor and op-eds this week. [READ MORE]( [April 10, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gives his 2024 State of the State address in the Ohio House chambers at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday afternoon.]( [FirstEnergy gave $2.5M to GOP governors' group backing DeWine in '18]( In 2018, Akron-based FirstEnergy donated $2.5 million to a Republican Governors Association-affiliated dark money group backing GOP nominee Mike DeWine in a competitive race for governor. [READ MORE]( [The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio serves nearly 493,000 active, inactive and retired Ohio public educators. STRS Ohio is one of the largest public pension funds in the country. (Columbus Dispatch photo by Doral Chenoweth III) Photo taken Dec. 26, 2018.]( [The battle to control Ohio's state teachers pension fund takes a twist]( An appeals court ruled that Gov. Mike DeWine didn't have the authority to make a change to the state teachers pension fund board. [READ MORE]( [Tom Synan, is the police chief of the Village of Newtown. The population is only 3,000, but Synan is becoming known on a international level for his battle against the opioid epidemic. He is the co-founder of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition that that started in March of 2015. ]( [Embattled Newtown police chief: 'My goal is to stay']( Opinion | Newtown residents have expressed an outpouring of support for Police Chief Tom Synan who is suing the village mayor for targeting his job. [READ MORE]( Sign up for the news you want Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don’t miss out! We’re always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. [SEE ALL NEWSLETTERS ➔]( SUBSCRIBE TODAY Our Reporting. Your Stories. • Full access to subscriber-only content on all devices. • Share bonus subscription with a family member or friend. • The universal eNewspaper, the digital version of our print paper, plus bonus monthly magazines and hundreds of local papers. • Original reporting of our hometown teams, from high school sports to the pros. [SUBSCRIBE TODAY]( Advertisement [Newsletters]( | [eNewspaper]( | [Crosswords]( Follow Us Problem viewing email? [View in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( • [Manage Newsletters]( • [Terms of Service]( • [Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights]( • [Privacy Notice]( • [Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy]( • [Feedback](