Originally Posted - September 13, 2006

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OAK HARBOR, OHIO---A federal judge sentenced Republican fundraiser Tom Noe to 27 months in prison and fined him $136,200 for funneling $45,400 into President Bush's reelection campaign.

Before coin dealer Noe, longtime friend and ally of Ohio Bob Taft begins his prison term for the fundraising scandal, he will first have to stand trial next month in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on state charges of racketeering and the alleged theft of over $2 million from a $50 million investment in rare coins which he oversaw for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

Noe had pleaded guilty in May to making illegal campaign contributions, causing a false statement to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and knowingly and willfully making $45,400 in illegal campaign contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

Despite Noe's guilty plea, Bush has returned only $4,000 in campaign contributions made directly by Noe and his wife.

During his guilty plea hearing, Noe, 51, admitted that in October 2003, he made contributions to Bush-Cheney '04, Inc., over and above the limit established by the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Noe admitted disguising these contributions by recruiting and providing money to friends and associates who then used Noe's money to make contributions in their own names. Noe contributed $45,400 of his own money through 24 such conduits. To avoid suspicion, he gave several conduits checks in amounts slightly less than the maximum allowable amount and instructed several conduits to falsely characterize his payments to them as loans.

The conviction and sentencing of Noe serve to further validate the allegations of former Oak Harbor attorney Elsebeth Baumgartner, a long-time critic of Ohioan government who is currently incarcerated for speaking out about Ohio corruption, jailed for 25 days without having been formally charged.

Dr. Baumgartner has alleged massive federal and state grant fraud as well as abuses of power and position by public officials, particularly numerous judges in northern Ohio. She has paid the price, being disbarred for speaking out, then losing her license as a pharmacist and is now saddled with numerous criminal charges of dubious substance, after retired visiting judge Richard Markus, known as a rent-a-judge due to his private judicial practice, filed a complaint against her that she allegedly sent him intimidating emails.

Baumgartner had teamed up in 2005 with Bryan DuBois in the publication of Erie Voices, a website that published articles and opinion alleging misconduct by public officials in several northern Ohio counties including Cuyahoga, Erie, Lucas and Ottawa.

DuBois turned on Baumgartner earlier this year and filed a complaint against her, claiming that she had intimidated him by posting comments on Erie Voices and as a result, she was arrested on another raft of charges.

In an alleged attempt to shut her up and discredit her, in addition to disbarring her, the Ohio courts labeled her a "vexatious litigator", prohibiting her from filing any legal motions or actions. In fact, on more than one occasion, she has been denied her Sixth Amendment right to file an appeal in criminal matters and most recently, the Sixth District Court of Appeals has refused to hear a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, filed as a result of her most recent incarceration without having been charged with a crime.

However, the vexatious litigator statute is applicable only to civil actions and cannot usurp the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this year, after learning of Noe's first indictment on 53 counts for mishandling the $50 million investment, Dr. Baumgartner wrote the following:

"I was employed by Medlen & Carroll LLP, a patent law firm specializing in biotechnology patents and technology transfer, from 1993 through 1996. Our firm had offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Boston/Cambridge Mass and Toledo, Ohio. I ran the Midwest office in Toledo.

"The firm filled an enormous void for these highly specialized services in Ohio and the area. The firm was quickly was hired by the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine several biotechnology companies and Ohio University's Edison Biotechnology Institute.

"Being located in Toledo and in that I had earned two professional degrees from the University of Toledo (pharmacy and law) the firm expected it would quickly be able to provide services to UT as well as the then Medical College now University of Ohio . After all, no firms in Ohio, let alone Toledo, offered the expertise of the firm. All the firm's lawyers in the biotechnology group had advanced degrees in the medical and pharmaceutical sciences which no Ohio firm could match. We also had an impressive client list including Stanford, Harvard, Baylor, University of Wisconsin, etc and had extensive experience in not only patents but technology transfer issues including conflicts of interest, licensing deals and bio-company formation.

"The firm learned that Ohio state universities could not hire their own counsel but that we had to be approved by then Attorney General Betty Montgomery's office. Counsel for Ohio University (they were able to bypass the AG's office to use us due their Institute's status for many projects but if a project arose within one of the Universities labs itself, we needed approval from the AG) lobbied hard for us. At the time there was a huge push to commercialize biotechnologies in Ohio (this effort is still nascent in my view due the hurdles placed by Ohio bureaucrats and Ohio's culture) and OU's counsel recognized our firm was key to building this industry in Ohio.

"A meeting was held with Leah Pappas, the top aide to Betty Montgomery, and Dr, Peter Carroll and myself. At the meeting we discussed several ideas on how a creative patent firm such as Medlen & Carroll could assist in growing Ohio's Bioetch industry. I remember Ms. Pappas even suggesting the use of pension funds from state employees as a possible way to finance promising technologies. In any event we left the office convinced that we would now be able to provide services to Ohio's state university based biotech, medical and pharmaceutical researchers without a problem. The U of Toledo's biotech and pharmacy work was especially important to me as my alma mater and the fact that researchers and the tech transfer person told me they really needed a firm skilled in the areas.

"Within days of the meeting, I received a fund raising letter from Betty Montgomery's campaign. It was blunt. Host a party to raise $10,000 for her campaign and the firm would then have access to special counsel appointments.

"Dr. Carroll and I were shocked and outraged. Our firm did work all over the country and we never were asked to donate to a politician in return for state work. The firm never obtained state work and closed its Toledo office after I left the firm to go to work with first the Edison Biotechnology Center and then several start up companies based on technologies arising out of CWRU's School of Medicine. (A PD article from 2000 written by John Mangels quotes me as a local biotechnology player concerning the departure of a leading genecist from CWRU and the difficulty in developing the industry in Ohio.

"Ms. Pappas is now, like her brother, a major lobbyist. I've noted that though they provide lobbying services they also receive contracts from state agencies such as the Ohio Supreme Court. This is commonplace with Ohio attorneys. Many law firms are dependent on contracts with government agencies for survival even though the AG's office and prosecutor's offices are to provide these services as part of their statutory mandate.

"In mid 2000, I first went to the FBI concerning the appearance of illegal steering of federally sponsored research and or theft of biotechnologies from CWRU's school of Medicine. These activities were allegedly facilitated by certain politically connected law firms and or through public officials' abuse of their positions of public trust. Later, I reported on the alleged thefts of public resources through a variety of sham public contracts including alleged misappropriations of over $1.4 million from the Benton Carroll Salem Local Schools (Oak Harbor-Davis Bessee schools district) in Ottawa County and the alleged abuse by public officials of their offices in Ottawa and Erie Counties to illegally obtain personal benefits from federal grants. Again, law firms were intimately involved in promoting and protecting this activity. When this activity was reported to the Attorney General's and Auditor's offices as well as the US Attorney's office, any investigative efforts were allegedly immediately blocked due the interested parties donations to high ranking state officials, in particular Chief Justice Thomas J Moyer, AG/Auditor Jim Petro and AG/Auditor Betty Montgomery.

"In the past year, the Thomas Noe Coingate scandal erupted. In addition to using his office to obtain contracts with BWC, Mr. Noe was able to allegedly abuse his office as a Regent to obtain a founding interest in federal sponsored research from the University of Toledo in a promising start company called Hi-Genomics. Former UT Trustee and now Regent and Attorney James Tuschman was also able to use his office to obtain founder's interest. Mr. Tuschman was allegedly involved in the PIE insurance scandal during Governor Voinovich's administration. UT recently lost over $1,000,000 in federal support for its plant research work after the Noe scandal arose. This proves that these conflicts issues are serious and the institutions are damaged when their counsel allegedly does not adequately protect them but instead allegedly assists those looking to benefit illegally from a public office. To date the FBI and US Attorney's office in Toledo has given no indication that they are examining the clearly shady nature of the Hi Genomics deal.

"Interestingly, it is alleged that Thomas Noe used a number of conduits to conceal his donations to a variety of officials including President Bush, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Judy Lanzinger and Terrence O'Donnell. He also donated very heavily to Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery's campaigns. Much of his fund raising efforts arose in Ottawa County where Moyer, Voinovich, Noe, O'Donnell, and over 50 judges all own vacation homes. Many of the conduits are represented by Toledo Attorney William Connelly, a former Assistant United States Attorney, Former Commissioner of the Elections and former general counsel to Medical College of Ohio. (He also owns a big home on Put in Bay in Ottawa County) Mr. Connelly along with Assistant United States Attorney David Bauer in charge of the Toledo Office were allegedly instrumental in blocking my reports of steering of legal contracts and public contracts in a variety of situations by Ohio donor law firms in a public corruption complaint filed by me in Ottawa County in November 2000.

"Indeed one of those conduits, Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber, while serving as Toledo Municipal Court Clerk of Courts, allegedly blocked the filing of an obstruction of justice criminal complaint against Attorney William Connelly I filed with the court in 2001 concerning undermining the criminal probe of public corruption in Ottawa County. Oddly, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates' office through John Weglian also refused to inquire into the activity despite the fact that Investigator Tom Ross found my evidence compelling.

"My reports of pay to play in Ottawa County and assisting whistleblowers in Erie, Defiance and Cuyahoga Counties were the basis for my disbarment from the practice of law. If one checks the files, one will find Attorney William Connelly, AUSA David Bauer and several judges and prosecutors and public officials implicated in pay to play in Ottawa, Erie and Defiance counties were the promoters of my disbarment. Jon Craig, then of the Columbus Dispatch did a great story on my suspension on February 1, 2002.

"Now over four years later after my license was stripped from me without any hearing because my reports of corruption such as federal grant fraud involving Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter's private ferry boat company, the Put in Bay Police department and thefts from BCS schools posed an immediate threat to the public safety (according to Chief Justice Moyer- Case no 02-65) many of the same players who obstructed federal inquiry into those crimes are involved in the Noe scandal.

"For the record, my affidavit filed with the Ohio Supreme Court in case no 02-2237 in February 2003 just after I was incarcerated for 75 days for reporting public corruption and to prevent me from defending myself against the Bar complaint filed by public officials, reports that Betty Montgomery's campaign demanded $10,000 for special contract work and blocked all probes of public officials abusing their office for personal gain that several people brought to her attention. Jim Petro allegedly continues to block these probes as well.

"On Feb. 1, 2006, an illegal search was executed on my home. The warrant was signed by Judge Hany of Ottawa County Municipal Court, a judge who has recused himself in all my prior matters because his court was directly involved in efforts to block corruption inquires in Ottawa County. His family and in-laws are major donors to Jim Petro, Betty Montgomery and Tom Moyer.

"The raid took my computers which contain over six years worth of legal records concerning my efforts to have pay to play in Ohio investigated and more remarkably the publication records of Erie Voices, an internet based investigative journal owned by Arbor Group LLC.

"That website was shut down within two days of the raid so that the evidence concerning public corruption was no longer readily available to the public or for use in defense of 18 felony counts in Cleveland wherein I face 66 years and 6 months in jail for sending e-mails critical of retired Judge Richard Markus including the appearance that he allegedly threw two civil cases to corrupt public officials in Ottawa County to assist with my muzzling me. The raid followed by one day my sending an email to reporters and others concerning special counsel contracts. Oddly, not one media outlet has questioned the legality of executing a search warrant to obtain legal and media records. Within days of the closure of my website, a Google search of my name and Erie Voices would lead you to a porn site. The defective search warrant is posted to this day on the Ottawa County Sheriff's website in order to discredit me by publishing false statements and or out of context statements and to invade my family's privacy.

"Perhaps it's time for that no holds barred federal probe led by Washington, DC public integrity section prosecutors and an independent special grand jury that I requested back in November 2001 in case no 01MC115 because clearly the state offices and US Attorney's office of this state are not up to the task but are themselves embroiled in the scandals.

"Oddly that case now appears on the PACER system though it never used to and is in entitled in Re: Establishment of Special Grand Jury to probe Ohio Corruption. The Sandusky Register in late November 2001 reported that Chief Justice Moyer, Betty Montgomery, Jim Petro and Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan and others were targets of that requested probe. At the time these public officials mocked my request for accountability". 9-13-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette