Governor was warned of would-be regulator s ties to utility
by Mark Gillispie And Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 10, 2020 10:25 am EDT
Last Updated Dec 10, 2020 at 10:28 am EDT
FILE - In this March 14, 2020, file photo, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks at a coronavirus news conference at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. DeWine disregarded warnings from consumer and environmental advocates and a last-minute plea from Republican insiders in selecting the powerful top Ohio utility regulator now under legal and financial scrutiny, Samuel Randazzo. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File)
COLUMBUS, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine disregarded cries of alarm in early 2019 from consumer and environmental advocates, concerns echoed in a previously undisclosed last-minute plea from GOP insiders, when he was selecting the state’s top utility regulator a man now under scrutiny as a wide-ranging bribery and corruption investigation roils Ohio.