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ORLANDO, FL---The day after a federal grand jury returned a three count indictment against him for allegedly laundering $45,500 into President Bush's re-election campaign, Tom Noe appeared in shackles and handcuffs before a U.S. magistrate in Orlando to be arraigned.
Noe, 51, a rare coin dealer, prominent Republican fundraiser and close personal friend of Ohio Gov. Robert Taft, had surrendered to the FBI in Miami Friday morning. He was then fingerprinted, had his mug shot taken and placed in a holding cell until his arraignment.
Noe was released after posting a $1 million bond secured by property in the Florida Keys that is in the name of his wife, Bernadette. The Noes have reportedly been residing in Florida. The arraignment was moved to Orlando because the federal courthouse in Miami is closed due to damage sustained as a result of Hurricane Wilma.
He is expected to appear in a Toledo federal court Monday to be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Verneilis Armstrong.
Noe's attorney, Myles H. Malman, said that Noe maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court.
The three-count indictment with charges of conspiracy, public corruption, false statements and violations of the federal campaign contribution act, alleges that beginning in October 2003, Noe made contributions to President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign over and above the limits established by the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). He did so, according to the indictment, in order to fulfill his pledge to raise $50,000 for a Bush-Cheney fundraiser held in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 30, 2003.
The indictment alleges that Noe disguised his contributions by recruiting and providing money to friends and associates who made campaign contributions in their own names. The indictment also alleges that Noe wrote several checks in amounts slightly less than the maximum allowable amount so as to avoid suspicion. Altogether, Noe allegedly contributed $45,400 of his own money through 24 friends and associates who then made the contributions in their names in order to skirt the $2,000 limit for individual contributors.
Prosecutors have not charged any of the 24 individuals involved. Several public officials who allegedly contributed to the Bush-Cheney campaign at the October, 2003 fundraiser in Columbus testified before the grand jury including City Councilman Betty Shultz, Lucas County commissioner Maggie Thurber and Donna Owens, former Toledo mayor who was a member of the Ohio Industrial Commission.
None of the three women have disclosed in their past filings with the Ohio Ethics Commission that they ever received any money from Noe. With the requirement being that all public officials disclose all sources of income, the women could face an ethics commission probe if they have admitted to receiving money from Noe while acting as a "conduit" to funnel campaign cash to the Bush campaign.
Each of the women was reportedly granted immunity from federal prosecution in exchange for their testimony against Noe.
Noe is charged with making contributions in the names of others, in violation of the FECA's anti-conduit provision. The indictment charges that Noe also conspired to make contributions in the names of others, to cause the submission of false statements to the Federal Election Commission, and to defraud the United States. The indictment alleges that Noe caused the conduits to fill out contribution cards and forms falsely certifying that they were making the contributions themselves, and that these false statements caused President Bush's campaign committee to unknowingly submit a false campaign finance report to the FEC. The campaign committee has been fully cooperative with the government's investigation.
If convicted, Noe faces a maximum sentence on each count of five years in prison. The conspiracy and false statement counts carry a maximum fine of $250,000, and the FECA count carries a mandatory fine of between $136,200 and $454,000.
According to a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, the Bush-Cheney campaign donated $6,000 that it received from the Noes to charity. Records indicate that the Noes gave $4,000 to Bush-Cheney and $2,000 to the RNC.
Noe, a coin dealer, is also the central figure in Ohio's Worker's Compensation Bureau scandal. He is under investigation involving a $50,000 million investment in rare coins he managed for the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation fund. Gov. Taft had also appointed Noe to the board of trustees for Bowling Green State University, the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Turnpike Commission.
Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has accused Noe to stealing up to $4 million from the state. Noe has acknowledged that nearly $13 million is in question.
In August, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft became the first Ohio governor ever charged with a crime when prosecutors filed four misdemeanor counts against him for violations of state ethics laws stemming from his failure to report 52 gifts which included golf games, meals and professional sports tickets.
He pleaded no contest to the charges and was fined $4,000, the maximum.
Ohio law says that public officers are required to report all gifts that are worth more than $75 if the donor is not reimbursed. Among the gifts at issue were golf outings with Noe.
In July, Taft's former chief of staff, Brian Hicks, pleaded no contest to failing to report vacations at Noe's home in Florida. Hicks was fined $1,000.
10-29-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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