Republican powerbroker Tom "Coingate" Noe goes on trial in Ohio

Tom "Coingate" Noe is standing trial for stealing $2 million from a worker's compensation fund in Ohio:

Noe, once a member of state boards that oversee the Ohio Turnpike and Ohio's public universities, was a top GOP fundraiser who gave more than $105,000 to Republicans, including President Bush and Gov. Bob Taft during the 2004 campaign.

He is charged with corrupt activity, theft, money laundering and forgery. If convicted, he could get up to 10 years in prison on the corrupt activity charge alone. [AP]

As a money manager, Noe squandered millions of public dollars on bogus rare coins, enriching himself in the process:

The state invested $50 million with Noe from 1998 to 2001, but [Noe's lawyer] said he spent only a fraction of that figure on coins.

Prosecutors said Noe kept two sets of financial records - one for the workers' comp agency and one for his own business. When state officials wanted to check on the status of the coins Noe told them he had bought, he created false documents and borrowed coins from other dealers to trick investigators, Weglian said.

The government declined to say whether any of Noe's ill-gotten gains found their way into the coffers of the Bush-Cheney team. Ney has already plead guilty to funneling $45,000 to Bush-Cheney in a separate case.

Comments

[Count Zero]

Don't forget to mention yet another Republican has been raided for yet another possible breach of public faith.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/16/congressman.investigation.ap/index.html

They're dropping like flies before the election.

[Neil the Ethical Werewolf]

Hooray! No more silver coins rolling around Ohio! There might be werewolf sightings there soon...