Following this week’s arrest of the Ohio Speaker of the House for accepting bribe money from FirstEnergy, Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango is calling for an investigation in West Virginia. Salango wants Justice to release any and all information about his dealings and relationship with First Energy.
As reported by Cleveland.com: “Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s political operation accepted more than $60 million in bribe money from FirstEnergy Corp. to secure the company a $1.3 billion public bailout, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday.”
As the events of the Ohio bribery case were unfolding last year, FirstEnergy also received a massive tax break thanks to Justice, costing West Virginians $12 million per year. This tax break occurred shortly after the company donated to Justice’s re-election campaign and it was discovered that Justice’s coal companies owe FirstEnergy millions of dollars (News & Sentinel, 7.24.2019).
“The way FirstEnergy has conducted business with elected officials in our neighboring state of Ohio begs questions about their dealings with Governor Justice and the state of West Virginia. This absolutely warrants more information from Justice,” said Ben Salango, candidate for governor. “Governor Justice has a long history of only looking out for himself and using his office for personal gain. I hope the governor will join me in calling for a thorough investigation of their lobbying efforts at the state capitol and disclose any information he has related to First Energy,” concluded Salango.
