A judge presiding over the longtime FirstEnergy subsidiary that is looking to become Energy Harbor put a hold on the final wave of millions of dollars in fees and expenses charged by outside law firms and consultants, the Columbus Dispatch reported. About 10 minutes before the judge handling Energy Harbor’s bankruptcy walked into his Akron courtroom on July 21, someone handed him a newspaper story about the FBI arresting Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others on racketeering charges that morning. Judge Alan Koschik had been poised that day to approve the final wave of millions of dollars in fees and expenses charged by outside law firms and consultants to help FirstEnergy Solutions break free of its parent company, FirstEnergy Corp., reorganize through its bankruptcy and emerge as Energy Harbor. But the news — that Householder and the others were accused of leading a $60 million corruption scheme to secure a $1 billion public bailout aimed largely at Energy Harbor’s two nuclear power plants — appears to have upended the judge’s plan, according to a transcript of court proceedings that day. After reading part of the newspaper article about Householder aloud and into the court record, Koschik put off making a decision about approving the final fees owed to 19 firms involved in the bankruptcy until he had more information about how at least one of them may have been involved in lobbying and other efforts to get House Bill 6 passed. Judge Koschik then set a new hearing, Aug. 18, to consider the fees. In the meantime, Judge Koschik said he would consult with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Cincinnati handling the corruption case to determine how best to proceed.
