Former Ohio House speaker needs more time to find lawyer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The former speaker of the Ohio House still can't find a permanent lawyer to defend him against a charge related to an alleged $60 million bribery scheme and needs more time to hire one, according to a Wednesday court filing.

Republican Rep. Larry Householder and four others each face a racketeering charge for their roles in the alleged scheme to bail out two aging nuclear power plants.

The five are accused of shepherding $60 million in energy company money for personal and political use in exchange for passing a legislative bailout of the plants and then derailing an attempt to place a rejection of the bailout on the ballot.

Four defendants pleaded not guilty earlier this month to the charge that they conspired as part of what one defendant called an “unholy alliance” aimed at saving the plants.

A judge allowed Householder to delay that Aug. 6 court appearance to find a new attorney, a request prosecutors didn’t oppose. Householder's current attorney, Dave Thomas, says he has an unspecified conflict of interest and must drop off the case.

Thomas filed a new motion late Wednesday saying Householder still needs more time to find a long-term lawyer. Federal prosecutors aren't opposing the request, but federal Judge Timothy Black still must approve it.

While Householder “has been diligently attempting to do so, he has not retained new counsel of the filing date of this motion,” Thomas said. “The breadth of the case and complexity of the Government’s allegations make securing competent, conflict-free counsel exceedingly difficult.”

Thomas emphasized the request wasn't being made to delay the case.

In its criminal case, the government contends the energy company money was funneled through Generation Now, a group created to promote...