Jones, Dowling indicted by Summit County grand jury

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – After an Ohio jury deadlocked earlier this year in the trial of two former energy company executives charged with bribing a state utility board chairman, the men have been reindicted.

“The roots of this complex case haven’t changed – FirstEnergy was hijacked by two scheming executives who sought to control the regulator that influenced the company’s stock prices,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. “I’m confident that Ohio’s ratepayers will get justice when the facts are unearthed in the courtroom.”

In March, a jury in Akron deliberated for nine days but could not reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of former First Energy executives Michael J. Dowling and Charles E. Jones.

“We had a hung jury,” Yost said in a statement at the time. “That means they deliberated for a long time and couldn’t get to a verdict that they all agreed on. That means somebody didn’t think they were guilty, and some people thought they were, beyond a reasonable doubt.”

This week, a Summit County grand jury indicted Jones, former CEO of FirstEnergy, and Dowling, the company’s former senior vice president of external affairs, on 22 felony counts, Yost said and Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich announced.

Five of the charges name both defendants.

“Manipulating the system for personal gain is a violation of the public’s trust,” Kolkovich said. “We will continue to work with the Ohio attorney general’s office to prosecute these alleged crimes and ensure justice is served for all Ohio communities.”

Jones and Dowling were first indicted in 2024. Samuel “Sam” Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, was also indicted but died by suicide before the trial, Yost said.

But the case stretches back to 2019, with the passage of House Bill 6, according to the nonprofit group Common Cause Ohio.

The legislation was a bailout for the state’s nuclear energy industry and “forced Ohio customers to pay for failing nuclear and coal plants,” Common Cause said.