I Cogitate

May 29, 2005

Noe coin controversy may be costly to GOP

Past scandals have led to change in Columbus

By  JAMES DREW
and STEVE EDER
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS - With its intrigue of missing rare coins bought with state funds and campaign cash flowing to Ohio Republican leaders, some are predicting that "Coingate" will be a bigger scandal than the one that led to a near-Democratic sweep of statewide offices in 1970.

But the question now is whether Democrats will capitalize on the growing Republican scandal surrounding the state's $10 million to $12 million loss in rare-coin investments controlled by Tom Noe, a prominent Toledo-area GOP fund-raiser and coin dealer.

"The people in the state of Ohio are going to want to elect people in 2006 who they can trust will not use their positions to help their contributors," said state Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from suburban Youngstown. "The folks in charge now have shown their willingness to help their contributors at the expense of the state."

Federal and state authorities Thursday said they are pursuing criminal and civil charges against Mr. Noe for allegedly misappropriating millions from the state's rare-coin investment.

It's unclear whether Mr. Noe used some of the state's money to make contributions to Republican candidates, including President Bush's re-election campaign, said Ron O'Brien, Franklin County prosecutor.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI are investigating whether Mr. Noe violated campaign-finance laws. That probe has focused on an October, 2003, fund-raiser in Columbus that generated $1.4 million for the Bush campaign.

The Bush-Cheney campaign lists Mr. Noe as a "pioneer" for raising from $100,000 to $250,000 for the President's re-election campaign.

Ohio ended up being the most crucial swing-state win for Mr. Bush in last year's election, with Democrat John Kerry conceding the race on the day after the election only after it became clear that Ohio's electoral votes would go to Mr. Bush.

Political observers have said the GOP's control of state government, and GOP fund-raising in the state, was crucial to Mr. Bush's win.

Ohio Democrats haven't won a governor's race since 1986.

Republicans have swept all statewide executive posts in the past three elections. The GOP controls both chambers of the General Assembly, six of the seven state Supreme Court seats, both U.S. Senate seats, and a majority of congressional districts.

Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, have contributed more than $200,000 to politicians, political parties, and political action committees over the last 15 years. Their giving increased greatly in 1998, the year Mr. Noe's coin fund received the first of two $25 million payments from the bureau to invest in rare coins.

Since 1990, Mr. Noe has contributed $12,350 to Gov. Bob Taft, $4,350 to state Auditor Betty Montgomery, and $2,500 to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. Attorney General Jim Petro has said he received $6,100 in contributions from Mr. Noe since 1994.

Not just an 'Ohio' story

Like a prairie fire, the controversy over the state's $50 million rare-coin investment controlled by Mr. Noe crackled and heated up in the days and weeks after The Blade's first story on the unusual investment was published on April 3.

But the flames now threatened to immolate Republican leaders, with last week's revelation that Mr. Noe's attorneys had told law-enforcement authorities that $10 million to $12 million of Capital Coin's assets are "unaccounted for."

...U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said she is confident the scandal will hurt Republican candidates, especially in Ohio.

"I think it is going to have ramifications across the board in the state," she said. "The average taxpayer, they are going to want checks and balances."

She said the coin scandal is a reflection of the relaxed attitude among some politicians concerning the use of public money.

"Coins in many ways are a gamble," said Miss Kaptur. who is calling for reform of the largely unregulated coin industry. "It's this free-wheeling, risk-based behavior that is infecting public service, and people are trying to cash in on the public..."

Governors' ex-aide linked to campaign probe
Friday, June 3, 2005

John Caniglia, Sandy Theis and Becky Gaylord

Plain Dealer Reporters

H. Douglas Talbott, a former top aide to two Ohio governors, told federal authorities that Republican coin dealer Tom Noe persuaded him to contribute $2,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign - then reimbursed him for the donation, The Plain Dealer has learned.

Talbott appeared Wednesday before a federal grand jury in Toledo that is investigating whether Noe illegally reimbursed as many as two dozen contributors to a Bush fund-raiser in October 2003. The grand jury is looking into whether Noe made the reimbursements to circumvent campaign finance laws, which limit individual contributions to $2,000.

Repeated attempts to reach Talbott were unsuccessful.

His appearance before the grand jury marked the first time a former top aide to Gov. Bob Taft and former Gov. George Voinovich has been linked to the federal investigation of possible laundering of Bush campaign money.

Jon Richardson, an attorney for Noe, could not be reached for comment.

In a separate investigation, the Ohio Ethics Commission is looking into a personal loan that Talbott received from Noe in 2002 to buy a home in Lakeside, near Port Clinton.

He is not the only former state employee who once advised Noe on his state duties, then benefited from Noe's largess.

Doug Moorman, a former executive assistant to Taft, told The Plain Dealer that he accepted a $5,000 loan from Noe.

The payment occurred in August 2004 - about 13 months after Moorman left the state payroll to join the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, he said.

Terms of the loan are not in writing, Moorman said. In fact, the only term appears to a promise of repayment...

...Meanwhile, state investigators continue to examine a $55.4 million rare-coin investment that Noe managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. An estimated $10 million to $12 million in state money is missing.

For the first time, Taft suggested that some of Ohio's investment funds might have landed in candidates' campaign coffers.

"There's a question here as to whether some of those contributions may have come from a diversion of state funds," Taft said at a news briefing on Defense Department jobs Thursday in Cleveland.

Taft also said the Ethics Commission is investigating Talbott, who received a $39,000 interest-free loan from Noe in 2002 to buy a $223,000 home in Lakeside, said sources familiar with the investigation. Talbott failed to disclose the loan on a lobbyist expense report.

"It certainly doesn't look good on the surface," Taft said. "It would be inappropriate to say anything more before the Ethics Commission makes its determination."

Talbott, who coordinated state board and commission appointments for Taft, left state government in 2000 to become a lobbyist. Both Voinovich and Taft had appointed Noe to the Ohio Board of Regents, one of the state's most prestigious posts...

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