COLUMBUS – A longtime Ohio lobbyist who pleaded not guilty in a sweeping federal bribery investigation has been found dead in Florida.
Authorities say the body of Neil Clark, 67, was found in an isolated area near where he had been living in Collier County, Fla. An autopsy is pending.
Clark’s wife indicated they had been having financial issues.
Clark had made his not-guilty plea in August over an alleged role in a $60 million scheme federal prosecutors say funneled money from FirstEnergy companies to then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to secure a $1 billion nuclear bailout.
House Republicans are reportedly talking about expelling Householder. Officials from Licking County wrote to current GOP Speaker Bob Cupp last week and asked that Householder be expelled from the House.