Thomas Noe
Encyclopedia
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Republican party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
fundraiser and activist, guilty of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign
George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004
This article is about the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the former President of the United States and winner of the 2004 Presidential Election. See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his full presidency, and George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 for a...
and of theft and corruption in the "Coingate scandal". A longtime resident of Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050403/NEWS24/504030399 Noe is a former member of the Ohio government
Government of Ohio
The government of the state of Ohio comprises three branches executive, legislative, and judicial. Its basic structure is set forth in the Ohio Constitution.-Executive Branch:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
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
Lucas County, Ohio
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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.
The Republican Party
Both Noe and his wife Bernadette Restivo-Noe have been chairmen of the Lucas County Republican party. Noe was also chairman of the 2004 Bush-Cheney election campaign in Northwest Ohio. Noe was convicted of making illegal contributions to George W. Bush's 2004 presidential campaign. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14805486/=Board of Elections
During the 2004 election, Noe's wife Bernadette was chairman of the Lucas County Board of Elections. In the 2004 election, the county experienced extreme voting difficulties, including criminal investigations and manipulation of the recount, http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/lucas.htm http://rawstory.com/other/pdfs/lucasinquiryrawstory.pdf and many officials resigned or were suspended. The Ohio Secretary of State told Bernadette to resign or be fired. She resigned from both the Lucas County Republican Party and the Lucas County Board of Elections in December 2004.Board of Regents
Noe was appointed to the Ohio Board of Regents, which oversees Ohio's public colleges and universities, by former Ohio Governor George VoinovichGeorge Voinovich
George Victor Voinovich is a former United States Senator from the state of Ohio, and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and as the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.-Personal life:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his father was...
in 1995 to complete a vacated term. Noe was reinstated for a full 9-year term in 1999 by Governor Bob Taft
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
.
In late 2004, Noe wrote to the Ohio Ethics Commission to seek an opinion on his involvement with Hi-Genomics LLC which licenses a patent on plant genetic engineering from the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
. Noe was vice-president of Hi-Genomics LLC and owned a 23% stake in the company. Noe's position on the Board of Regents was deemed to be a conflict of interest by the Ohio Ethics Commission. Noe was told to either resign from the Board, divest his interest in the company, or step down as vice-president of the company. Noe eventually sold back his units in Hi-Genomics to one of the other unitholders.
Turnpike Commission
In 2003 Governor Taft appointed Noe chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, which manages the Ohio TurnpikeOhio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...
, for an 8-year term. On May 10, 2005, Noe resigned from the Turnpike Commission.
Coin politics and business
Apart from being President of his company, Thomas Noe Inc. (Noe owns 60%), Noe owns and/or manages many different companies that deal rare coins. His store, Vintage Coins & Collectibles (or Vintage Coins & Cards), is the parent company. Noe was also a statutory agent for the Professional Numismatists Guild, a nonprofit organization of top numismatistsNumismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
whose members follow a strict code of ethics, for more than 25 years. He resigned in May 2005.
Noe served as chairman of the Ohio Commemorative Quarter Program Committee during its operation in the 2000s. Noe was appointed chairman of the U.S. Mint's Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee was established in 2003 to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on coinage-related issues, replacing the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee ....
(CCAC) by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snow
John W. Snow
| image=John W. Snow.jpg|imagesize = 250px| order=73rd| title=United States Secretary of the Treasury| term_start=February 3, 2003| term_end=June 28, 2006| predecessor=Paul O'Neill| successor=Henry Paulson| birth_date=| birth_place=Toledo, Ohio...
in October 2004. The CCAC advises the secretary on issues relating to commemorative coin design and circulation. He was recommended by U.S. House Representative Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
. He resigned in May 2005.
Legal troubles
Noe has been convicted in two separate, but overlapping investigations for a variety of corrupt activities in Ohio and in national politics.Campaign contributions
On October 27, 2005, Noe was indicted in a federal investigation on counts of conspiracy, conduit contribution violations, and false statements.Noe was accused of illegally funneling $45,400 to President Bush’s re-election campaign, using "two dozen people as “conduits” to make illegal campaign contributions at a $2,000-a-seat fund-raiser in Columbus. Conduits named in a federal affidavit include Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber, Toledo City Councilwoman Betty Shultz, former Toledo Mayor Donna Owens and former State Representative Sally Perz. In doing so, Noe skirted federal campaign finance funding limits while meeting a pledge to raise $50,000 for the October 30, 2003, fund-raiser. The Bush campaign later named Noe a "Pioneer
Bush Pioneer
Bush Pioneers are people who gathered $100,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 or 2004 presidential campaign. Two new levels, Bush Rangers and Super Rangers, were bestowed upon supporters who gathered $200,000+ or $300,000+, respectively, for the 2004 campaign, after the 2002 McCain–Feingold campaign...
" for raising at least $100,000 overall.... In addition to “conduits” who received between $1,750 and $4,000 from Noe to make either one or two contributions, prosecutors claim that the former rare-coin dealer used two people as “super-conduits,” giving them $6,000 and $14,300 that they then split with others who attended the fund-raiser." Noe is a serious criminal and now is serving a jail term of at least 10 years. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051028/NEWS24/51028001/-1/NEWS
On October 31, 2005, Noe pled not-guilty to all three charges. On May 31, 2006, Noe reversed his earlier plea and pled guilty.
On September 12, 2006, Noe was sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison for funneling money into the re-election campaign of President Bush illegally.
Coingate
Noe is also at the center of the Ohio Coingate scandal. On November 13, 2006, Noe was found guilty of theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity, and the central charge: that he engaged in a pattern of corruption in his management of Ohio's $50 million rare-coin fund investment with the bureau.On February 13, 2006, the Lucas County
Lucas County, Ohio
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District Court of Ohio indicted Noe http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/02/14/20060214-A1-00.html, along with his business partner, Timothy LaPointe. http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/02/14/20060214-A4-06.html
The prosecution presented their case in three weeks that Noe stole $2 million for personal use; the defense argued that Noe's government contract allowed him the freedom to use the state's money however he wanted, but called no witnesses. The jury deliberated for three days before delivering their verdict. On November 20, 2006, Thomas Noe was given an 18-year sentence, to be served after the 27-month federal sentence imposed in September, fined $213,000, "ordered to pay the cost of the prosecution, estimated at nearly $3 million, and ordered to pay restitution to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation provides workers' compensation insurance coverage for employers and employees in the State of Ohio through a $22 billion fund...
for the money missing from the rare-coin fund, estimated at $13.7 million."
Earlier, on August 17, 2005, Ohio Governor Bob Taft
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
was charged with four criminal misdemeanors stemming from his failure to disclose golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
outings paid for by lobbyists, as well as some undisclosed gifts. The gifts were varied, but included gifts from Noe. It was the first time an Ohio governor was ever been charged with a crime while in office. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/NEWS01/308170017
External links
- Noe got early start in rare coin business by Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade, April 3, 2005.
- Scandal-Ridden Ohio Donor Met with Rove, DNC ResearchDemocratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, July 11, 2005. - Noe indicted: GOP backer is accused of laundering cash Mike Wilkinson and James Drew, Toledo Blade, October 28, 2005.
- Grand Jury Charges Noe with 53 Felony Counts by Mike Wilkinson and James Drew, Toledo Blade, February 13, 2006.
- Chronology of Noe's Involvement (in Coingate), Toledo Blade, February 13, 2006.
- http://www.dispatch.com/2006/02/13/noeindict.pdf Text of Noe's 53-count indictment, February 13, 2006.
- Coingate opens up flood of charges, The Plain Dealer, February 14, 2006.