Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history and taken immediately into custody, a judge declaring that “the court and the community’s patience with Larry Householder has expired.”
The 64-year-old Republican tensed only slightly as U.S. District Judge Timothy Black meted out the punishment, the maximum under the law, and appeared somewhat disoriented as U.S. Marshals placed him in handcuffs. He glanced back briefly at his wife, Taundra, who exited the courtroom with his Perry County Ducks Unlimited ball cap folded in her hands.
Ahead of his sentencing, Householder stood before Black to make a personal appeal for leniency, saying it was not himself that a harsh prison sentence would hurt most but his spouse of 40 years, his sons, grandchildren and friends.