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Main Page » Ohio politics

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Monday, August 29

Coingate: Whoo-hoo! We're #1!

by Mike on Mon 29 Aug 2005 09:20 PM EDT

One night last week, I caught a bit of "NewsNight with Aaron Brown" which featured a story on the ongoing Coingate scandal in Ohio. The spot featured an interview with a Political Science professor who declared that Ohio now has the most corrupt state government in the entire U.S. That interview was followed by an interview with another PolySci professor who indicated that the "dubious distinction" of "most corrupt" typically goes to New Jersey, but he also conceded that Ohio is gaining fast on that particular title. A handful of Ohio officials and agencies are now at the center of a host of federal and state investigations.

Speaking of investigations...Tom Noe, the former big-time Republican contributor and organizer turned persona non grata amongst his GOP cronies, is now starting to fight back against the Taft Administration's efforts to leave him twisting in the wind. Late last week, Noe's attorney indicated that Noe spoke directly with Taft regarding his rare coin investments with BWC funds as far back as May 2001.

from toledoblade.com

On May 13, 2001, as they changed into business suits after showering in the locker room of Toledo's Inverness Club after a round of golf, Tom Noe told Gov. Bob Taft about the $25 million rare-coin fund he operated for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, according to an account released by Mr. Noe's attorney yesterday.

And Mr. Noe used the discussion to tell the governor "about his pending application for the second $25 million coin fund," the statement said.

The bureau approved the second $25 million installment two months later - in July, 2001. (full article)

Avid followers of the "Coingate" scandal will recall that Governor Taft has consistently claimed that he had no knowledge of Noe's use of BWC funds for rare coin investments prior to April 2005.

Add to this that Toledo Blade has published the speech made by Governor Taft at Noe's 50th birthday party "roast" in 2004.

At one point in the roast, the governor joked about Mr. Noe's work as chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, saying that a toll booth would be named after him.

"When you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between Tom and the turnpike: He's always taking our $, he's as dense as concrete, he's as slick as asphalt, and he's adding a third lane around his middle," Governor Taft read from a prepared text that includes his hand-scribbled changes in the margins. "...By the way, can't you just imagine Tom Noe out there in that booth collecting tolls - scrutinizing each coin to determine its actual value and cutting deals for drivers who buy some of his rare coins." (full article)

So that "April 2005" story seems less and less plausible now, doesn't it? The American Policy Roundtable and Ohio Citizen Action are leading the charge for Governor Taft's impeachment through their new web site MoveOnTaft.org.

Interest is also shifting to Noe's fundraising work from when he was chairman of the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign in Northwestern Ohio.

from wikipedia.com

Noe is currently being investigated by the FBI and the northern Ohio attorney general with respect to possible violations of campaign contributions laws in the run-up to the 2004 American election. The investigation focuses in particular on a 2003 Republican fundraising event for the Bush-Cheney campaign in Columbus, Ohio. The fundraiser was a big success, raising almost $1.4 million for the campaign. Noe helped to raise at least $100,000 and sponsored a table at the event. At issue is the possibility that Noe reimbursed attendees of the event, who were required to contribute to the campaign. In this way, Noe may have effectively contributed well over the $2,000 limit that individuals are allowed to contribute by law. (full article)