Free Republic

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The scandal began as a curiosity. Tom Noe, a gregarious businessman and Republican Party leader in northwest Ohio, had been entrusted with $50 million in state money to invest in rare coins, with the idea of winning fat returns for the workers' compensation fund. It seemed an oddity at most, but like a loose thread on a jacket, the more investigators pulled, the more the garment unraveled, revealing members of Ohio's Republican establishment who had been wined, dined and enriched by Noe. Gov. Bob Taft (R), heir to the state's most famous political name, pleaded no contest...

TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer and major GOP donor at the center of a scandal in Ohio state government was charged Thursday with illegally funneling $45,400 in contributions to President Bush's re-election bid. Tom Noe was accused in a federal indictment of giving money directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who then made the campaign contributions in their own names. In that way, he skirted the $2,000 limit on individual contributions, prosecutors said. "It's one of the most blatant and excessive finance schemes we have encountered," said Noel Hillman, section chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's...

Ohio GOP Continues Downward Slide by John Gizzi Posted Aug 26, 2005 As scandals continue to swirl around Ohio Republicans, chances are increasing that next year Democrats will capture the governorship, a Senate seat, and at least one seat in the U.S. House. Republican Gov. Bob Taft pleaded no contest this week to four misdemeanor charges that he failed to disclose, as legally mandated, 52 gifts of golf outings, meals and hockey tickets. Taft could have been sentenced to two years in jail, but a judge let him off with a $4,000 fine. Taft’s crimes, however, are sure to haunt...

SACRAMENTO - President Bush is returning $4,000. The Republican National Committee is donating $2,000 to charity. Top Ohio politicians are giving up $60,000. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has "no intention" of giving back $10,000 he received from a prominent Ohio coin dealer under investigation for possibly defrauding his state of millions. Despite the unfolding controversy, Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser said Friday the governor plans to keep $10,000 donated by Ohio businessman Tom Noe. "The allegations about Mr. Noe became public a year after we accepted his contribution," said Schwarzenegger fundraiser Marty Wilson. "As he was an active Ohio Republican Party fundraiser...