I know. I know. Follow the $$.

[MelissaB]

I've been in and out of the loop for several weeks and don't understand this one. Where does the $$ lead? Is there an answer? Does anybody have a clue?

Ohio Officeholders Return Noe Money

Two U.S. Senators and Governor Taft are among several Republican officeholders who plan to return campaign contributions they received from a coin dealer under state and federal investigation.

In statements coming within hours of one another Wednesday, Taft and three other statewide officeholders said they were returning contributions from coin dealer Tom Noe, saying he's done a disservice to Ohioans. Contributions totalling almost $60,000 went to House lawmakers, Auditor Betty Montgomery, Attorney General Jim Petro, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, and the state Republican party.

U.S. Senator George Voinovich says he'll return nearly $14,000 contributed to his campaigns since 1990 and Senator Mike DeWine is donating $7,500 in contributions to charity.

Noe is under investigation for his handling of $50 million in workers' comp money he invested in rare coins.

Link: http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=3428303&nav=LQlCadBK


And from Wilms in today's "daily thread":


Article published Friday, June 3, 2005

RARE-COIN CASE
Bush to give back $4,000 in Noe cash; Democrats want GOP to return over $100,000

By STEVE EDER and JAMES DREW
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS — President Bush will return $4,000 in campaign contributions donated by Toledo area coin dealer Tom Noe and his wife, officials said yesterday.

A spokesman said the Republican National Committee will also return $2,000 contributed by Mr. Noe, who is facing multiple investigations for allegedly misappropriating at least $10 million in state money and possible federal campaign finance violations. The money will be refunded to charity.

But President Bush will not — at least for now — return more than $100,000 raised by Mr. Noe for his re-election bid last year, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the RNC. Democrats continue to call on the President to return all of the “tainted” money raised by Mr. Noe.

On Wednesday, Gov. Bob Taft as well as U.S. Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine, three Republican gubernatorial candidates, and several GOP leaders tried to cleanse their hands of Mr. Noe’s cash by announcing they would direct the money to charities and organizations.

-snip/more-

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050603/NEWS24/50603001

[Wiley50]

1. Gee, How nice of them all

to send the money back to Noe when he needs it for legal costs!

sarcasm off

How can the country remain oblivious to the evil in power?

(skakin head)

[dweller]

2. hopefully to OilSlick Dick

i'd love to see him nailed on something like...tax evasion.

It's time he was Spiro'd.

dp

[autorank]

3. Maybe this is it.

There was a rokken thread here a few days ago. Some smarty pants (smarter than me!) Googled Noe and Blackwell. Found out that Noe or his connections intervened on several occasions in law suits to which Blackwell was a party. It looked, how shall I say, curious.

[Amaryllis]

4. Curious indeed. Most likely a coincidence, don't you think? Just like

Blackwell being chair of the Bush campaign and all the curious irregularities in OH was a coincidence. So many coincidences with these people.

[Wilms]

5. Coincidently...Arnie

Coin dealer contributions went to Schwarzenegger

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, AP Statehouse Correspondent

Friday, June 3, 2005

(06-03) 18:57 PDT Columbus, Ohio (AP) --

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won't return $10,000 in contributions he received from a coin dealer at the center of an Ohio investment scandal, a spokesman said Friday.

Coin dealer Thomas Noe gave the money last year to a Schwarzenegger fund that supports the Republican governor's legislative priorities, such as limiting state borrowing to balance the budget.

Ohio's Inspector General is investigating Noe's investment of $50 million in state money in rare coins, while federal authorities are investigating whether Noe bypassed election laws in donations to Bush.

Noe's attorney said May 26 that $10 million to $12 million is missing from the fund, which was given to Noe by the state's Bureau of Worker's Compensation to raise money for the bureau by investing in rare coins.

-snip/more-

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/06/03/state/n185729D83.DTL

Thanks to Dem Girl for posting the LVN discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1522083

[zann725]

7. Why am I not surprised Ahnald was involved in Workers' Comp money-skimming

After all, one of the reasons he was brought in as Gov. in CA was to reform and cut-back Workers' Comp claims and budgeting. (What better way to do that, than by skimming money from rare coin collections!) These Repugs have no shame...indeed!

[Amaryllis]

9. Well...this whole thing is just ripe with coincidences, isn't it?

[zann725]

6. Sounds like it's something that needs its own thread.

Maybe others can contribute more. If we get the "dirt" on Blackwell, we get the whole Truth on 2004 EF.

[MelissaB]

8. I've gotta find that thread today.

Thanks.

[helderheid]

10. super curious

Interesting...

[Peace Patriot]

11. I heard Voinovich's name on some radio program in the last few days...

...as one of the R's who might vote against Bolton. I have a feeling that the corruption and radicalism of the Bush Cartel is finally coming home, and R reps are hearing it from their own R constitutents.

Could anything ever be LESS "conservative" than the Bush regime?

[autorank]

12. I think Voinovich Watching is going to be very interesting.

It's like "kremlin watching" except more readily available. Voinovich is apparently disgusted, by history, with bullies. I don't know any of his staffers but I suspect he runs a respectful office. He was also anti-Bolton because of the mishandling of intelligence materials.

BUT, in Ohio, one indicator that the * is going to hit the fan, is a rapid distancing from the Ohio Taft-Blackwell crew by Senator V. I don't known enough of his history but if that happens, it means that all Hell is about to break loose.

If he does a Jeffords, I'd say that means * is about to implode.

Interesting stuff.

[KaliTracy]

16. unfortunately, Noe's "climb" in Ohio began with Voinovich -- and he's the

one that appointed him to the Ohio Board of Regents

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1116754442201050.xml&coll=2&thispage=4

In court records, Noe said his Republican Party position was crucial to his business affairs and helped him land two important clients: Vince Panichi and Paul Mifsud. Panichi was Voinovich's campaign treasurer; Mifsud was then-Gov. Voinovich's chief of staff.

Voinovich put Noe on the board of directors at Bowling Green State University and the Ohio Board of Regents.

edit:spelling

[autorank]

17. Thanks! So if the V man turns on Noe etc., it's fleeing a sinking ship.

I'm a great fan of Ohio (and even BGSU) but lard what a bunch of crooked Republicans you have.

Thanks for taking them on out there!

:yourock:

[KaliTracy]

18. well, at least he's giving back his money -- Arnold Swartznegger says

he won't give back the 10K Noe gave him.

I find all of this fascinating ... I used to live in the Toledo area.... and The Blade really Rocked on this story. I think Blackwell came down on Lucas County thinking he could show Noe who was "in charge" but then when the Blade got ahold of the coin story, it got out of control... but still no smoking gun connecting Noe and Blackwell really, except that he was in a couple of lawsuits for Blackwell.

[autorank]

19. Well, that is pretty smokey. Thanks

[KaliTracy]

21. yeah, it is -- but I've been searching for a week or so to find some kind

of connection with Blackwell and Noe together -- there are a bunch of pix of Noe with Voinivich and even with Taft -- and though it's written a lot in the Blade that Noe and Rove "talked often" -- haven't been able to find much beyond that statement.

Another interesting thing about Noe is that he was also chairman of the US Treasury and Mint's Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

"Noe, whose coin expertise led U.S. Treasury officials to make him chairman of the U.S. Mint's Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, is still trying to protect his reputation and business with the state. "

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1116754442201050.xml&coll=2&thispage=4

http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=press_release&id=440

<snip>
Mr. Thomas W. Noe of Maumee, Ohio was recommended by Speaker Hastert of the United States House of Representatives. Mr. Thomas W. Noe is the founder and president of Vintage Coins and Collectibles, and served as the Chairman of the Ohio Commemorative Quarter Committee.
<snip>

and he gave a very impassioned speech on making the US Dollar Coins "presidental" (Like the quarters represent the States)

http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/042804tn.pdf

[zann725]

23. Giving back the money. Is that sort of like UN-robbing a bank?

Once it's done, the crime (and guilt) are complete.

[mod mom]

13. By guess is that this will lead to Diebold and on to the * administration,

Tom Noe was a member of the Lucas County BOE, in 2003 when Diebold was chosen to provide voting machines to Lucas County. Once the machines were in place, his wife Bernadette was added to the mix as Chairperson of the Lucas County BOE. Lucas County is a democratic stronghold, as Toledo is the county's largest city. So diebold gets it's foot in the door through Tom Noe and repugs have access thru Bernadette. Then Blackwell takes over with his mix of registration tricks (confusing directives, purges), caging techniques, challengers, misallocation of machines, changing long standing precincts locations and mis-use of provisional votes. Where did all the problems occur? Democratic strongholds like Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Franklin (Columbus), Lucas (Toledo) and Mahoning (Youngstown). bu$h takes the Whitehouse in 2004.

'05 Blackwell, still SOS despite all his antics, pushes Diebold down the throats of the BOE officials. Blackwell is running for governor, so pushing Diebold just might help his chances of getting elected. With the stench of Coingate blowing in the wind, Blackwell investigates Lucas County BOE. He appears to be innocent since he investigates, but he offers the Noes as sacrificial lambs (certainly worthy of sacrificing, but they are not alone the whole GOP hierarchy is corrupt). Blackwell, quite generously, volunteers to take the campaign contributions from the Noes and deliver them to his adoring constituency, anti-choice (my term) groups.

The Toledo Blade is doing an excellent job in investigating this scandal, but although they have mentioned such LC BOE officials as Tom Noe, Bernadette Noe, Sam Thurber and Joe Kidd (his ex-wife was an attorney along with Ms Noe), they have not made the connection to the election investigation. Let's puch for this investigation!

[MelissaB]

14. WOW!! If you made this another thread, I'd vote for it for the greatest

:kick:

Edited to say: Thanks for all the information. I've been out of the loop for a few weeks.

[mod mom]

15. Not enough info YET to connect the dots, but an open records request has

been filed. We have to keep "coingate" in the spotlight long enough to trace it back to the election. We've got all the characters from the Noes, (BOE onnection to lawsuits with Blackwell), Blackwell, 5 of 7 Supreme Court Justices recused, Taft, Petro, Montgomery all the way to Rove.

[pgh_dem]

30. Great updates, and thanks! not sure all the horses are behind carts...

I guess we'll see as the records requests get filled, but here's my suspicion...

I think this stuff is falling out because of Bernadette Noe's massive screw-ups as BOE chair. I think the things she did wrong could be provably linked to Blackwell directives. I think B-well feels he is (on paper) innocent of charges related to stealing the coin fund money, so he's been leaking info on the Noe's to muddy the waters and to save his own skin.

This seems like a bad idea, because it draws attention to every Repub that has taken money from Noe, but if you imagine a different headline: "B*/Cheney Campaign co-chair and SOS issued explicit orders to Lucas County BOE to defraud & disenfranchise voters", I think such a 'cut-your-losses, leave some allies muddied' approach makes some sense.

Also leaves you to consider another reason why long-time Noe supporter Voinovich might be reduced to tears on the Senate floor. (Sen. V, your buddy Noe's gonna have to take the hit for this one, and you are, too. You have to make a public break with B*, and if we can't control this investigation, you may end up hounded out of office... but hey, better that than the big B himself getting run out of town, right?...aw, don't cry...)

[autorank]

20. KICK-Recommend -- Lets get this on Greatest!!!! Please

:kick:

[LiberalHeart]

22. To get LOTS of info on this....

...go to toledoblade.com and click on any Noe story (they've been running Noe stories on the front page for a couple of months). At the bottom of whatever story you're reading, you'll find links to a loooong list of stories going all the way back to April 3, when the first story ran. Start at that first date and read upward on the list to bring yourself up to date. It's a fascinating read. Today's front page (Sunday) will have a story about how the scandal is impacting the changes for the three GOP candidates for Governor: Betty Montgomery, Jim Petro, and KENNETH BLACKWELL.

Another great site for info is the Columbus Dispatch, but you have to pay $4.95 per month to gain access. I think it's well-worth it.

[MelissaB]

24. Article I found in the paper today while searching...

Article published Sunday, June 5, 2005

Blackwell had few concerns at first
He now says scandal has 'smell' of crime

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


COLUMBUS - Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell was not initially concerned or even shocked that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation had invested $50 million in rare coins.


In fact, Mr. Blackwell told The Blade on April 5 that "most people" wouldn't find it "unreasonable" that the state had invested in rare coins with Tom Noe, who has said through his attorneys that at least $10 million of the state's assets are missing.

"When you run a fund the size of $18 billion and you're looking at $50 million, beyond what one's disposition might be, is that an irresponsible amount of risk? Most people would say no," Mr. Blackwell said on April 5 - two days after The Blade's initial report on the coin investment.

Two months later, Mr. Blackwell told The Blade that the coin scheme carries the "potential smell of organized crime" and needs to be addressed in the federal government.

"It's serious," he said. "It's not a marginal issue or an issue that you play with in the margins. This gets to the heart of the integrity of governance. It is an important issue."

Opponents, though, say Mr. Blackwell and his Republican colleagues who were in a position to react and avert this problem did not do their jobs.

And state Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) said Mr. Blackwell's initial reaction to the coin scandal is indicative of the thought that contributions and influence-peddling caused leaders to turn a blind eye to potential wrongdoing.

"It is irresponsible for him to think that the amount of money had to reach a threshold to say it was OK to misappropriate funds," Ms. Fedor said. "If this were a person who did not have the political influence did, I'm sure Mr. Blackwell would have thought differently."

Mr. Blackwell this week returned $3,000 in contributions from Mr. Noe.

Mr. Blackwell disputes that he had any interest in protecting Mr. Noe, or his wife, Bernadette. Mr. Blackwell accepted Ms. Noe's resignation from the Lucas County Board of Elections early last month amid problems at the county elections office unrelated to the coin scandal.

Mr. Blackwell said his "battle" with the Noes over the elections board serves as clear evidence that he would not allow a contributor to interfere with his decision-making.

"I just haven't been a favorite of the Noes for quite some time," he said, describing the couple as "rough-and-tumble political bosses."

Ms. Fedor said Mr. Blackwell's acceptance of Ms. Noe's resignation in April was a politically calculated move to distance himself from a brewing scandal.

"He was very much aware of what was going on," she said. "He is a politician. He is going to know how to politically maneuver around this situation."

The secretary said he has a record of going out on a limb to root out people who don't play by the rules - even if it means implicating his own party.

"I haven't been afraid to challenge the status quo or to identify and attempt to out the wrongdoers, even if they were ," he said.

Back in early April, Mr. Blackwell told The Blade that concerns about the prominent Republican campaign contributor would not be "swept under the rug."

More than six weeks later, Mr. Blackwell's office confirmed that it was investigating Mr. Noe for possible state campaign finance law violations. The Toledo-area coin dealer has been under investigation by federal agents for allegedly laundering money to the Bush campaign to skirt campaign finance laws and a grand jury convened in Toledo last week.

Mr. Blackwell said his office's investigation is very limited because of legal restraints, but he is working with the federal government.

"If the notion is somebody gave a $2,000 contribution, we don't have the authority to see if this was within the person's income bracket," he said.

Ms. Fedor said Mr. Blackwell waited too long to begin that investigation.

"Mr. Blackwell had an obligation to see whether any state or local contributions were given to people, and whether those contributions came from the state's workmen's comp fund," she said.

Mr. Blackwell, though, is adamant that he acted appropriately in this case. And, had other officials followed his lead in the 1990s on legislative reform creating more oversight on the bureau and transparency, this scandal potentially could have been averted, he said.

"It is amazing how much of this would have been caught" with transparency or the "two-key" approach, he said.


Link: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/NEWS24/506050376

[MelissaB]

25. Another article

By JAMES DREW
and STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
Article published Sunday, June 5, 2005

GOVERNOR'S RACE

Noe fallout taints early candidates to succeed Taft; Democrats take aim at GOP trio

COLUMBUS - Tom Noe has outraged and angered the governor of Ohio, caused the President to return his campaign contributions, and his $50 million state-coin funds are in disarray.


...snip

The three Republican officeholders running for governor have all received campaign cash from Mr. Noe and have been criticized for their slow reaction to the growing coin scandal.

Now they find themselves on the defensive, quickly distancing themselves from the prominent Republican campaign fund-raiser, who is facing multiple investigations, including a probe into whether Mr. Noe violated campaign-finance laws by laundering money into the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. All of the candidates say they have known Mr. Noe for years and they returned thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from him and his wife, Bernadette, last week.

...snip

Bob Bennett, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, has not met with the candidates to tell them to refrain from attacking each other, state GOP spokesman Jason Mauk said. Rather, he said, Mr. Bennett has focused on how to "fix the problem."

David Mark, the editor-in-chief of Washington-based Campaigns & Elections Magazine, said if voters have lost trust in Republican candidates because of the coin scandal, it will create serious obstacles for whoever gains the GOP nomination for governor.

"It's not really a hint of corruption, it appears to be outright evidence of corruption for the controlling party," he said. "There's really nobody else to blame when you're in charge."

More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/NEWS24/506050379

This was well worth the read. If you are interested in this topic, read the whole article.

[MelissaB]

26. Bush met with Noe!

"Coingate" rocks Ohio's Republican Party

By Tim Jones

Chicago Tribune

...snip

In Washington, the Republican National Committee (RNC) said Thursday it would donate to charities $6,000 that the Bush/Cheney campaign and the RNC received directly from Noe and his wife, Bernadette. The Bush campaign received more than $100,000 raised by Noe. RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said remaining contributions "appear to be completely appropriate."

Bush met with Noe last October to thank him and his wife for their fund-raising efforts. Bush narrowly won Ohio, whose 19 electoral votes enabled him to secure a second term.


More: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002307235_ohiocoin05.html


I've got to stop for now, but I think there is a lot of "stuff" there.

[Peace Patriot]

32. Note this paragraph in the Toledo Blade 6/5 article entitled...

..."Blackwell had few concerns...":

"Mr. Blackwell accepted Ms. Noe's resignation from the Lucas County Board of Elections early last month amid problems at the county elections office unrelated to the coin scandal."

That's a pretty big assumption on the reporter's part--problems "unrelated to the coin scandal."

What were those problems?

-----

Also, the following Blackwell statement is astonishing, really:

"'It's serious,' he said. 'It's not a marginal issue or an issue that you play with in the margins. This gets to the heart of the integrity of governance. It is an important issue.'"

Not an "issue that you play with in the margins"???

Senator Fedor catches it--and says her thing about "thresholds" of misappropriated funds. Still, sometimes you wonder how reporters can keep their jaws from dropping, or guffawing, or falling on the floor with derisive laughter, whenever Bush gangsters open their mouths.

[mod mom]

33. Those problems are HUGE:

As you know Bernadette Noe and Tom Noe both have links to the Lucas County BOE. Ms Noe was Chairperson of the Lucas County BOE during the past election. I hope you have taken the time to read the SOS's Investigation of Lucas county following the election:

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/lucas.htm

This report includes the fact that REPUBLICAN VOLUNTEERS were allowed UNSUPERVISED ACCESS to UNSECURED BALLOTS prior to the election, as well as this list:

*failure to maintain ballot security
*Inability to implement and maintain a trackable system for voter ballot reconciliation .
*failure to prepare and develop a plan for the processing of the voluminous amount of voter registration forms received.
*issuance and acceptance of incorrect absentee ballot forms.
*manipulation of the process involving the 3% recount.
*disjointed implementation of the Directive regarding the removal of Nader and Camejo from the ballot .
*failure to properly issue hospital ballots in accordance with statutory requirements.
*failure to maintain the security of poll books during the official canvass
*failure to examine campaign finance reports in a timely manner.
*failure to guard and protect public documents.
*failure to guard and protect public documents ....etc.

Tom W. Noe served as the Chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party from 1992-1995 as well as on the board of the Lucas County Board of Election from 1993-2003. He was also appointed to the Ohio Board of regents in 1995.

http://www.regents.state.oh.us/people/noe.html

It was during his tenure on the BOE that Diebold machines were brought into Lucas County.

"TOLEDO, Ohio, May 10, 2002 ¯ Just about every county in the nation is rushing to update their voting technology, but no county to date has done it faster than Lucas County."
<snip>
"Lucas County Board of Elections Acting Chairman Tom Noe, who was present to observe the May 7th election, was pleased with the outcome. "I don't think there is another county in the nation that has implemented touch screen voting as quickly as Lucas County did for this trial run in a primary election," Noe said. "The people of Lucas County and of Ohio in general can be proud of this achievement.""
http://www.sequoiavote.com/mediadetail.php?id=57

http://www.diebold.com/news/newsdisp.asp?id=2997

Also Mr. Noe intervened with Blackwell in a court case:

Thomas W. Noe files to intervene in Democrat court Case v. BlackwellEdited on Fri May-27-05 05:57 PM by phoebe
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/docs/sandusky/doc5...

[MelissaB]

27. Relative of Noe tied to Bush campaign donations; In-law's colleagues talk

Relative of Noe tied to Bush campaign donations; In-law's colleagues talk to grand jury

By MIKE WILKINSON and JAMES DREW
BLADE STAFF WRITERS


Tom Noe's brother-in-law has been linked to campaign contributions made to the Bush-Cheney campaign, The Blade has learned.


Two of Joe Restivo's fellow executives at a Bedford Township company appeared before the federal grand jury Thursday. At the time, they left the courthouse without identifying themselves.

But yesterday, The Blade confirmed who they were: Bart Kulish and Phil Swy.


Mr. Kulish, vice president of operations at MTS Seating, said he only knew about a controversial Bush fund-raiser in October, 2003, because of Mr. Restivo, who is the chief financial officer of the company. Mr. Restivo is the brother of Mr. Noe's wife, Bernadette.

Both Mr. Kulish and Mr. Restivo attended the fund-raiser and contributed $2,000 each to the Bush-Cheney campaign.

...snip

The U.S. attorney's office is investigating whether Mr. Noe broke federal campaign laws by giving money to others in order for them to contribute to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.

...snip

Investigators are reviewing the contributions to the Bush-Cheney campaign to determine whether Mr. Noe was the source of them.

Many of the contributions occurred at or around an Oct. 30, 2003, fund-raiser in Columbus that raised $1.4 million for the President's re-election campaign.

Federal campaign laws limit individuals to contributing $2,000 per candidate in each election. It is a violation of federal law to pass campaign contributions through another person to skirt individual contribution limits.


Link: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050604/NEWS24/506040365/0/NEWS

[MelissaB]

28. WaPo Monday: Senior GOP strategists begin to worry ethics scandals will er

WaPo Monday: Senior GOP strategists begin to worry ethics scandals will erode majority

After enlarging their majority two elections in a row, House Republicans have begun to fear that public attention to members' travel and relations with lobbyists will make ethics a potent issue that could cost the party seats in next year's midterm races, the Washington Post's Mike Allen will report on Monday page ones, RAW STORY has learned.

Republicans have a 29-seat majority in the House, which they likely won't lose in the 2006 elections. But those among senior ranks of the party who spoke earlier in the year about breaking even in the midterm elections now speak of losses. If Democrats retake the House, Republican strategists tell the Post, it won't be until 2012.

Allen says senior Republicans now speak of "the DeLay effect," intimating ethics questions circling House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) have begun to hurt fellow party members, who face local coverage of their own trips and use of relatives on campaign payrolls.

Among those endangered, according to the Post, are at least two committee chairmen and several other senior members, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), House Administration Chairman Bob Ney (R-OH) and House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA). Congressional districts that traditionally have been safe for Republicans could become more competitive, GOP officials tell the Post.

"Nowhere is the impact of the ethics issue clearer than in the Appalachian hills of eastern Ohio, where a thicket of weekly newspapers now gives regular coverage to revelations about House Administration Committee Chairman Robert Ney (R-Ohio) and his ties to DeLay and Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist now under criminal and congressional investigation for the tens of millions of dollars in fees he and a partner collected from casino-owning Indian tribes," Allen writes.

More: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Senior_GOP_strategists_begin_to_worry_ethics_scandals_will_erode_ma_06_05_2005_0811pm.html

[LightningFlash]

29. On top of that there's good old boy....

Thomas Noe and his team of scam artists, Ralph Reed plus Karl Rove himself, sitting over the stolen Ohio election they were involved in.

[mod mom]

31. We CAN"T let this story die! Noe is taking the fall, but surely the

corruption can be traced much higher. The American people will understand that the $ 50 million investment with a coin dealer who had financial problems at the time of his first divorce (1991-1992):

By the early nineties, Tom W. Noe had a net worth of 2.4 million dollars and his coin business had sales over $6.4 million. Then the Blade reports:

By 1992, a year after his business had suffered what he called “a huge loss,” he figured he was more than $16,500 in debt.
As Mr. Noe tried to support a lifestyle that didn’t match his income, the financial strain was crushing
“I was liquidating assets as quickly as I could to appease banks so they wouldn’t foreclose on myself and my business,” he testified during divorce proceedings.

Despite the tough times, he continued to find money to give to politicians and others.
In 1991 and 1992 combined, court records show, Mr. Noe sent $29,200 to GOP politicians or the Republican Party and nearly $11,000 to charities.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/NEWS24/505150404/0/NEWS10


and that he had several large insurance claims, was quite fishy, right?

Surely someone high up decided that the Noes REALLY needed to be rewarded. Come on now, does every bu$h pioneer get offered a $50 million dollar investment in a risky business, plus get put on the prestigious Board of Regents, plus other Board appointments? There is definitely more to this story!!!!

[MelissaB]

34. Monday 6/6/05

Article published Monday, June 6, 2005

Coins, cigars and wine seized from home of Noe's former employee

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER


Investigators seized hundreds of rare coins, Cuban cigars, computers, documents, and took custody of 3,500 bottles of wine over the weekend during searches of the home and office of a former employee of Tom Noe, a spokesman for the Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office said today.

As many as 10 investigators and lab technicians spent 12 hours on Friday scouring the Evergreen, Colorado, home of Michael Storeim, a former manager of Numismatic Professionals, which is a subsidiary of Ohio’s $50 million rare-coin venture.

Investigators then turned their attention to the offices of Michael Storeim Inc., where they spent six hours seizing documents, invoices and computers, said Jacki Tallman, a spokesman for the sheriff.

Ms. Tallman said the items seized might have been purchased with money from the Ohio-funded Numismatic Professionals, and computers, documents, and invoices, might contain information to aid investigators. Colorado authorities are conducting an independent criminal investigation into possible felony theft and forgery, which is separate from efforts by Ohio authorities.


More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/DEVELOPINGNEWS/50606010

[MelissaB]

35. LTTE

Article published Monday, June 6, 2005

Free press' job is to sniff out abuses

After reading, with great interest and some sad amusement the stories beginning back in April about Mr. Noe and the coin "investments" for the state, I hope that many of those who are clamoring for government control of the media will pause and think of the service done Ohio's residents by the reporting of The Blade. Many of those currently claiming the media have "gone too far" and are "biased" should think about how far this apparent abuse could have gone had it not been stopped by this reporting.


Remember those backers of Mr. Noe who said (to the effect) that this was all Democrats' "sour grapes" because Mr. Bush won and it was "time to move on"? Remember our great governor saying that the "numbers showed profits were made"? Remember Mr. Noe saying that the "numbers would show ..."?

This case is proof that in a democracy (of which our government is not) a free press is absolutely essential. Mistakes will be made, but without a free press allowed to dig and dig and dig, government will run amok.

Does anyone out there honestly think Governor Taft or the secretary of state or the attorney general were going to uncover this mess?

I am not that naive.

TOM REED
Bryan


Link: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/OPINION03/506060331/-1/OPINION

[MelissaB]

36. Another LTTE

Crooks need to be run out of office
James Conrad got what he deserved when he was forced to resign from the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. But we shouldn't stop there. Governor Taft, Attorney General Petro, and State Auditor Montgomery should be forced to resign as well. Everyone involved in this scandal should be held accountable.

This is an unfortunate but excellent example of why we need campaign-finance reform now. We need to run all those crooked fund-raisers out of business and take back our government at every level.

DAN MARTINEZ
Oregon

Link: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/OPINION03/506060331/-1/OPINION

[MelissaB]

37. Coin scandal intensifies legislative partisanship

Coin scandal intensifies legislative partisanship
Democrats see an issue to break Republican grip on Statehouse in ’06 races

Monday, June 06, 2005
Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

...snip

Members of both parties are in rapidresponse mode as daily front-page headlines expose the escalating coin scandal and its easy-todigest elements of strange investments, political favoritism and possibly millions in lost state money.

The state gave Noe $50 million to invest in rare coins, only to learn recently that the powerful GOP donor cannot account for up to $13 million in assets. State and federal investigators are probing his dealings and connections to numerous state officials.

"I think the public will pay increasingly more attention," said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University.

"Investment of state money in a way that looks very suspicious angers people, particularly because it seems to be indefensible. It has a very immediate understanding on the streets."

The scandal, Beck said, likely has enough legs to carry into 2006, when five statewide offices, half the Senate and the entire House are up for election. Things could heat up even more in coming months if charges are filed from the ongoing investigation of former House Speaker Larry Householder and his top aides.


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/06/06/20050606-A1-00.html

[MelissaB]

38. LMAO at this one!

Posted on Mon, Jun. 06, 2005

PERSPECTIVE: Democrats try to convert coins to political capital

CARRIE SPENCER
Associated Press


COLUMBUS, Ohio - Democrats seized a well-timed political opportunity from another Republican fund-raising scandal as they criticized the GOP-drafted state budget, a massive plan with just a few paragraphs addressing a tarnished state investment linked to a political donor.

Even as the Senate was debating the two-year, $51 billion budget last Wednesday, several Republican statewide officials and lawmakers were announcing they would return or donate to charity campaign contributions from Tom Noe.

...snip

Democrats stretched the budget debate for hours, venting frustration over tax cuts that return more money to the wealthy, new taxes on electricity and cigarettes and cuts in state aid to cities and libraries. Meanwhile, they took jabs at Noe and his Republican ties.

Senate President Bill Harris' rarely used gavel came down often as Democrats got in shouting matches with the Senate's second-in-command, Sen. Jeff Jacobson, who's responsible for enforcing the body's rules.

...snip

Outnumbered 21-11, Democrats used an unusual procedure of questioning Republican sponsors for three hours about minutiae of various budget provisions they saw as hurting Ohioans.

Jacobson chided them for asking questions such as whether a new provision banning horse investments means the workers' comp bureau now owns racehorses.

Sen. Bob Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, offered a mock apology for not knowing every detail of more than 600 pages of changes added without discussion on Tuesday.

"I guess I was overwhelmed with reading about corruption in state government," he said.

That opened up a lengthy exchange ending when Harris threatened to have Hagan escorted out when he kept talking over the president.

More: http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/11824139.htm

[MelissaB]

39. 'Coingate' heats up -- Parties jockey for position, exercise damage contro

'Coingate' heats up -- Parties jockey for position, exercise damage control

By JIM SIEGEL, The Columbus Dispatch

...snip

Fueled by a mixture of state budget disagreements and the coin scandal, tensions boiled over last week on the Senate floor in a way that long-time observers said they had never seen before.

At one point, Senate President Bill M. Harris threatened to remove Sen. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown, from the chamber.

As the late-night session wore on and majority Republicans closed debate on and voted down yet another Democratic amendment, Sen. Dan Brady boiled over.

“This is not the Marines, and this is not boot camp. We represent millions of people, and you can’t ignore us,” the Cleveland Democrat said.

Harris, a retired Marine from Ashland, tried to maintain civility in the chamber with mixed success.

“Now you’ve had your say, please have a seat,” he told Brady.

Tension levels have risen as Statehouse Democrats, who say they have grown increasingly frustrated by years of seeing their ideas rejected, appear emboldened by the coin scandal.

“I don’t think the Republicans are used to us fighting so hard,” said Sen. Marc Dann, a suburban Youngstown Democrat and vocal critic of the coin scandal. “I am proud to bring that level of intensity.”

But Democrats, despite their anger, have little chance to impact legislative action. There’s no such thing as a filibuster in Ohio.

“The only real change is going to occur at the ballot box in 2006,” said House Minority Leader Chris Redfern of Catawba Island. “The people will send a message that we need bipartisan governance in this state.”


Link: http://www.timesreporter.com/left.php?ID=42349&r=0


(I may have pulled from this yesterday???)