Nearly one year after the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal filed by Tom Noe, the former Toledo-area thief filed a petition in federal court Tuesday, marking his last hope of getting out of prison.

Toledo lawyer Rick Kerger filed on Noe's behalf a petition for writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in Toledo against Francisco Pineda, the warden of the Hocking Correctional Facility. The 36-page petition raises three claims for relief, including allegations against the trial court of improper denial of the motion to change venue, improper allowance of the state's experts, and improper denial of the defendant's experts.

The case was randomly assigned to Judge John Adams in Akron.

"He hopes it's successful," Mr. Kerger said of Noe. "If the sentence had been four or five years, it's unlikely the petition would have been filed. It's the length of the sentence that makes the gravity of the trial proceeding so important, in my view."

A jury found Noe guilty in 2006 of 29 charges of corruption, theft, money laundering, and of tampering with records for the theft of millions of dollars from two $25 million rare-coin funds he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. He was found not guilty on 11 other charges, and several others were dismissed or consolidated.

Former Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik sentenced Noe to 18 years in state prison and ordered him to pay $13,747,000 in restitution, the cost of prosecution totaling $2,979,402, and $139,000 in fines.

Noe's indictment and convictions followed a year-long investigation by The Blade that uncovered missing and stolen coins, massive mismanagement of the state coin funds, and a web of influence-peddling Noe created in the local and state Republican Party and in state government.

The stories were followed by multiple criminal charges filed against top GOP lawmakers in Toledo and Columbus, including former Gov. Bob Taft, whose conviction for failing to disclose gifts was a first for a sitting Ohio governor.

Mr. Kerger noted that the issues raised in Tuesday's petition are similar to those argued previously in state court. He added that, as in all writs filed in federal court, the defense has to assert that there are federal constitutional issues on point in the case that were "misconstrued" by the state court.

In particular, he said that the strength of the argument that the court erred in not changing venue was that media coverage "created a bias among jurors without them even knowing it."

He said the competing interests created a conflict.

"The first is the right of the press to cover matters of public interest. The other, which follows the first not because it is less important, is the right of a person accused of a crime to have a fair trial before jurors who have not been biased against him before they arrive at the courthouse," the petition stated.

"It is the petitioner's contention that the media had full play and received its rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution but as a result, because of the trial court's failure to change venue, he was denied his right to a fair trial as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of that same Constitution," the petition added.

Finding a new venue in Ohio might have been difficult, however, as the scandal quickly became a statewide issue.

All major newspapers in the state covered the Noe case with full-time reporters. Teams of reporters from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Columbus Dispatch worked on the story, which also was covered heavily by the Associated Press.

Noe's state prison time began in December, 2008, after he finished two years in federal prison for making illegal contributions to President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

His state conviction was upheld by the 6th District Court of Appeals in December, 2009, and on June 9, 2010, the Ohio Supreme Court denied to grant his appeal a hearing.

He had one year to file a petition in federal court.

Noe still owes millions of dollars in restitution. The amount owed dropped to $11,695,000 in 2007 after Noe's forfeited assets were sold and $2,052,000 was distributed to the state coin funds he created and managed until he was charged with stealing from them for years.

The dollar amount dropped even more to $11,430,000 in April after the state was successful in attaining a garnishment order for money owed Noe by the Catawba Orchard Beach Association.

Mr. Kerger said Tuesday he didn't know what happened to the stolen money.

"I'm not sure there is any of it," he said.

Mr. Kerger said he is not being paid. He said he turned down a request to represent Noe at his trial because of scheduling conflicts, but that a friend of Noe's -- whom he declined to identify -- approached him about handling the federal appeal.

Mr. Kerger said if he were to accept payment later, "It would depend on the offer" and from where it came.

His interest in representing Noe stems from his contention that Noe could not receive a fair trial because of the amount of publicity the case generated, and the trial judge's refusal to move the case to another county.

"I just thought he hadn't been treated fairly," Mr. Kerger said of his decision to take on the appeal pro bono.

Despite jurors' efforts to decide a case fairly, the cumulative effects of publicity nevertheless can subliminally taint their minds, he said.

"I love jurors. I think they have the ability to do the best they can," he said.

The state will respond to the appeal to the federal court, as well as file a motion to dismiss it. If Noe fails at the district court, he may be able to appeal to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which could decline to hear the case.

The final step would be the U.S. Supreme Court.

Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor Kevin Pituch said Tuesday that he did not believe the petition would change the outcome of the lengthy trial held five years ago. He noted that even then, the trial judge described the evidence of Noe's guilt as "overwhelming."

"Tom Noe had a fair trial," he said. "The trial court protected all of Mr. Noe's constitutional rights, 12 jurors heard all the evidence, and found he was guilty of stealing more than $13 million from the State of Ohio."

Mr. Pituch said the Ohio attorney general's office will file a response on behalf of the warden. He said the petition would only be successful if Noe establishes that the state court made an unreasonable application of clearly established federal constitutional law.

"The issues that he now complains were addressed by the court of appeals and found to be without merit and the supreme court refused to hear the case," Mr. Pituch said. "I'm confident that the three grounds set forth in the petition will be found to be without merit.

"When this petition is dismissed, this case will finally be over," he said.

Staff writer Jim Sielicki contributed to this report.

Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com, or 419-213-2134.

First Published June 8, 2011, 6:13 a.m.