Noe Stole Millions in Ohio’s GOP Coingate Scandal

Ohio GOP insider and rare coin dealer Tom Noe may have stolen as much as $4 million out of a $50 million fund in an investment scheme he brokered. He used proceeds from the theft to “invest” in the political campaigns of prominent Republicans, including President George Bush, Sen. George Voinivich, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ohio Gov. Robert Taft – and the GOP official who is investigating him, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro.

President Bush decided to keep the money Noe donated to the Bush/Cheney ’04 campaign, even though it may have been stolen from the people of Ohio.

Petro is trying to get out in front of the scandal, according to the Toledo Blade:

“There was an absolute theft of funds going on,” Attorney General Jim Petro said.

Mr. Petro said there is evidence that Mr. Noe pocketed nearly $4 million in money invested with the coin fund through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation since 1998…

The attorney general said the theft began on March 31, 1998, the day Mr. Noe received the first of two $25 million payments from the workers’ compensation bureau, and continued until late May — more than eight weeks after The Blade first reported on April 3 that there were problems with the state’s investment.

“On Day One, Tom Noe took $1.375 million and put it in his personal or his business account,” Mr. Petro said. Records show that Mr. Noe immediately began using the state’s money for his personal use, the attorney general said.

A week later, Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, made $4,500 in contributions to then-Secretary of State Bob Taft’s campaign for governor.

In the three months after the $1.375 million transfer of state funds, Mr. Noe made thousands of dollars in political contributions, including an additional $2,500 to Mr. Taft, $2,000 to then-Gov. George Voinovich’s Senate campaign, and $500 to Mr. Petro’s campaign for re-election to the state auditor post he held before becoming attorney general.

When the scandal first broke, Gov. Taft defended Noe:

In an April 7 interview with The Blade, Governor Taft vehemently defended Mr. Noe and the state’s rare-coin investment: “He’s probably been the most effective advocate for this part of the state in Columbus that you’ve got and you’re going after this guy. You’re trying to kill him for some reason.”

After yesterday’s news, Mark Rickel, a spokesman for the governor said: “When evidence of Noe’s mishandling of state money first began to surface, the governor acted to dissolve Noe’s investment with the bureau and to expedite the inventory of his assets.”

He added, “The governor commends the attorney general’s continued vigorous pursuit of all assets that belong to the state.”

Democrats, though, have accused Republican officeholders — who benefited from Mr. Noe’s windfall in the form of campaign contributions — from protecting their friend and ally for nearly two months, allowing him time to move money and coins within the investment.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor, distributed a copy of an April 5 letter he sent to Mr. Petro asking him to embrace his proposal for an “independent” investigation of Mr. Noe and the bureau.

Mr. Coleman said Mr. Petro “ignored that request.”

“Instead of aggressively pursuing the matter, Petro remained silent,’’ said Mr. Coleman, in a written statement. “Later that month, The Blade revealed that Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery joined Noe in financing a campaign television ad on behalf of a Lucas County Republican Party county commission candidate.”

The Blade reported June 20 that Mr. Noe loaned the Lucas County Republican Party’s candidates’ fund $40,000 on Oct. 22, 2002 — the day before the fund paid the same amount to a Columbus firm that bought a series of television ads for Maggie Thurber on Toledo stations.

The same day Mr. Noe made his loan, Mr. Petro contributed $10,000 to the candidates’ fund. Ms. Montgomery’s campaign contributed $26,000 of in-kind services to Ms. Thurber’s campaign.

“It was clear that not only was Petro a recipient of campaign donations from Noe, they were also political allies,’’ said Mr. Coleman. “No wonder Petro had no stomach to investigate wrongdoing by Noe.”

Gov. Schwarzenegger returned the donations from Noe but President Bush decided to keep the allegedly stolen money Noe donated to the Bush/Cheney ’04 campaign.

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