COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a resignation letter submitted Friday, Sam Randazzo voluntarily tendered his resignation as Chairman and a member of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) effective immediately.
As per statute, PUCO Vice-Chairman M. Beth Trombold will be the acting PUCO Chairman until a new chairman is named.
The move comes after FBI agents were seen searching Randazzo's home on Monday. FBI spokesperson Todd Lindgren told WTOL sister station WBNS in Columbus, agents were conducting "court-authorized law enforcement activity." However, no further information was released.
The process of nominating a new commissioner to the PUCO is done by the PUCO Nominating Council, a broad-based 12-member panel charged with screening candidates for the position.
By law, the Nominating Council is comprised of:
• The chair of the Consumers' Counsel Governing Board,
• The president of the Accountancy Board of Ohio,
• The chair of the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors,
• The president of the Ohio State Bar Association,
• The president of the Ohio Municipal League,
• The director of the Ohio Development Services Agency, and
• Appointees of the Ohio Department on Aging, the president of the Ohio Senate, the speaker of the Ohio House and the governor.
The governor's three appointees represent the utility industry, the business community and organized labor.
The Nominating Council will make final recommendations on a commissioner to the governor.
We will continue to keep you updated.