Ohio jury convicts GOP fundraiser

[Amianthus]

(And off he goes. Good riddance.)

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Less than a week after Republicans lost their grip on state politics, a former GOP fundraiser who played a role in the party's Election Day defeat was convicted of stealing from a state investment in rare coins.

Tom Noe, accused of taking at least $2 million, was found guilty of theft, corrupt activity, money laundering, forgery and tampering with records. The jury found Noe guilty of 29 of 40 counts.

Voters fed up with government corruption scandals broke the GOP's 12- year lock on state government, electing Democrats to the governor's office, a U.S. Senate seat and three of four other key statewide offices.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation gave Noe $25 million in 1998 to invest in rare coins, followed by $25 million in 2001. At the same time, he began his rise to prominence in state politics.

Prosecutors accused Noe, 52, of spending money from the coin fund on his business, his home in the Florida Keys and other luxury items. They did not say whether he used the money to make campaign contributions to Republicans, including President Bush.
Article

[Lanya]

Thomas Noe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Noe, Lucas Co., Ohio mugshot, February 13, 2006


Thomas W. Noe (July 1954–) is an Ohio Republican party fundraiser and activist, guilty of money laundering for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign and of theft and corruption in the "Coingate" scandal. A longtime resident of Toledo, Ohio[1], Noe is a former member of the Ohio government in the United States and has had an impressive array of jobs and positions within the government of Ohio and even the federal government. He was also a prominent Republican party fundraiser and was actively involved in politics, serving as chairman of the 2004 Bush-Cheney election campaign in Northwest Ohio and a former chairman of the Lucas County Republican party, also in Ohio. Apart from his political activities Noe was also an avid coin dealer and owned various coin dealing companies, such as Capital Coin and Vintage Coins & Collectibles, as well as their subsidiaries.

Thomas Noe is a Bush Pioneer fundraiser and has been involved in or connected to many different political scandals, particularly during the Republican Bush administration, involving a wide range of scandals including elections, fundraising, government investment, and conflicts of interest. He was found guilty for his actions in the Coingate scandal, and, separately, pleaded guilty on charges in May 2006 of money laundering in connection to his political fundraising.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Noe

Lucas County? Ding ding ding!

Richard Hayes Phillips Ties Lucas County Burglary to Voting Irregularities
In a December 25th article, Richard Hayes Phillips analyzes the Lucas County returns and ties them to the burglary and theft of Democratic Party headquarters in Lucas County. http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/1037

http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/894

http://www.alternet.org/story/33006/

http://democracyweek.org/ohio-voting1.html

etc. etc.