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COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the federal complaint accusing Ohio Speaker of the House of Representatives Larry Householder and four allies of designing a $ 60 million bribery scheme, few people look good. Tyler Fehrman, however, is one of them.
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Fehrman, a Columbus political consultant listed as “CHS 1” in the complaint, alerted the FBI in September 2019 after claiming that his friend Matt Borges, a former Ohio Republican Party chairman charged in the case, offered him $ 15,000 to provide inside information. on the campaign to hold a referendum repealing the House of Representatives bill 6. The homeowner approved the bill, a bailout of a billion-dollar nuclear plant, with financial help of FirstEnergy Corp., the beneficiary of the measure.
Fehrman then used a cable at the FBI’s urging, recording conversations with Borges that later became an important part of the federal case against Borges, Householder and three others.
Fehrman, whose identity was revealed Thursday by the Toledo Blade, agreed to speak to cleveland.com about his experience in helping federal authorities expose the plan.
In the interview, Fehrman said he felt compelled to do the right thing, despite describing Borges as a “close friend” and a “mentor.” When Borges went to the 2018 Super Bowl, he brought Fehrman, a New England Patriots fan, in a Patriots hat.
Fehrman, who previously ran careers for a couple of legislative candidates on behalf of household members, was unemployed and in debt last summer. When he was offered a job last year as a central Ohio regional manager for the referendum campaign to repeal House Bill 6, he said Borges encouraged him to accept it.
But soon after Fehrman accepted the job, he said, Borges called him and asked to meet up for coffee.
“I never thought that Matt was going to put me in the position that he did,” Fehrman said. “One of the first things he said to me was, ‘Dude, I don’t have a mortgage anymore. Like, I’m very careful. And we could do the same for you. “
Fehrman continued: “I just remember my stomach sinking. … Immediately, I thought, what a terrible choice. But I also thought, you know, this guy is my friend. He’s trying to give me a chance because he cares. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that he wasn’t trying to help me. I was taking advantage of my vulnerabilities that I only knew because we were close friends. “
According to Fehrman and the federal complaint, after the meeting, he texted Borges saying he was not interested, and wrote: “I cannot put a price on my integrity or my word.”
Borges replied that he understood, adding that Fehrman should not tell anyone that they spoke, he said.
Fehrman then called a friend who connected him to the FBI. Agents contacted Fehrman the following day and encouraged him to call Borges and feign interest in the offer so that he could gather evidence for them.
“I would like to tell you that my immediate response (to the FBI) was: ‘Yes, of course, that sounds great,'” Fehrman said. “But it took me a few minutes because it was like a gut hit. I admit this is a boy who has a young daughter. He has a family and we were friends.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, Fehrman told the FBI that he would. He met with Borges again on September 10, this time, using an FBI cable.
“I was terrified. I can’t tell you how disturbing, abnormal and strange it feels to be in that situation,” he said. “I felt nervous, knowing I had to come in and sit down and interact with (Borges) the same way I normally would. like a close friend. “
On September 13, Fehrman met again with Borges, who handed him a check for $ 15,000, financed entirely with money from FirstEnergy, according to the complaint. Fehrman, who used to work for the former governor. John Kasich said Borges told him the money was for him to organize a meeting of former Kasich employees.
But starting the next day, Fehrman said Borges started asking him for internal statistics on how many petition signatures the organizers of the anti-HB6 referendum were collecting.
“I was hoping my phone would ring and he would say, ‘Hey, now we can start the staff meeting,'” Fehrman said. “Now it is clear that this was not the case.”
Towards the end of the September 13 meeting, Fehrman, who was again carrying an FBI cable, said Borges warned him, “You better not screw me,” and that he hoped Fehrman was not secretly recording his meeting for the Firm. from Columbus. .
Fehrman said he replied: “I am not recording anything for shipping.”
As the two got up to leave, Fehrman said Borges looked at him and said, “Seriously, if you’re fucking with me, we’ll blow up your house.”
The federal complaint states that Fehrman treated the comment as a joke. But Fehrman says he didn’t find the comment funny at all.
“I remember getting into my car and feeling my heart sink,” he said. “I played it as a joke, but I was already scared, and that terrified me.”
Fehrman said that while he was not happy about his part in the investigation, he would do it all over again.
“It is the right thing to do, because the people of Ohio deserve better than having corrupt politicians and lobbyists and political pirates who steal their taxpayers’ dollars to rescue a corporation and fill their own pockets,” Fehrman said.
“I have a 7-year-old daughter whom I adore, and I want the world she grows up in to be a good one.” “And I want leaders who don’t get away with it.”
Read more stories from Larry Householder:
Governor Mike DeWine calls for the repeal of House Bill 6, reversing his position the day before
Who is Team Householder, the candidates that Larry Householder recruited to help him become Ohio House Speaker?
Governor Mike DeWine urges Ohio House to quickly start looking for a new speaker
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s top aide once ran a nonprofit political organization identified as a money conduit in a federal organized crime complaint
Ohio lawmakers on both sides are writing Bill 6 repeal bills
