Jury deadlocks on ex-FirstEnergy execs on bribery charges

(The Center Square) A jury in Akron deadlocked Tuesday in the trial of two former FirstEnergy executives charged of bribing a state utility board chairman.

Ohio Attorney General David Yost said his office will retry the two men, Michael J. Dowling and Charles E. Jones. The jury deliberated for nine days but could not reach a unanimous verdict.

“We had a hung jury,” Yost said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”

The state of Ohio “can and will retry these defendants,” the attorney general added. “Justice needs to be done.”

Jones was the former CEO of FirstEnergy and Dowling, former senior vice president of external affairs.

Samuel “Sam” Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio was also indicted.

“Jones and Dowling actively worked to spend FirstEnergy mo...