Article published June 01, 2005
RARE-COINS
U.S., state to combine coin probe; panel pursues 'maximum degree of justice' in case
By JAMES DREW and MIKE WILKINSON
BLADE STAFF WRITERS
COLUMBUS — Federal and state prosecutors agreed yesterday to form a task force to oversee the investigation of the state’s $10 million to $12 million loss from its rare-coin investment controlled by Tom Noe and to pursue criminal charges.
“This group’s mission is to try and obtain the maximum degree of justice that they can from the facts they find,” said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, who said he wasn’t aware of any precedent in Ohio for the federal-state effort.
“It is a unique cooperative effort for these various agencies to be together,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory White of the Northern District of Ohio.
The task force will examine the “facts of the case” and consult with the various state agencies involved in the rare-coin investment investigation — the state auditor, attorney general, inspector general, and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation fraud unit, Mr. O’Brien said.
The creation of the task force was announced after a 90-minute meeting yesterday in Columbus.
The two U.S. attorneys, Mr. White of the Northern District of Ohio and Gregory Lockhart of the Southern District, agreed to pick one person to serve on the task force with representatives of the Lucas and Franklin counties’ prosecutors’ offices.
“The purpose is to coordinate how the prosecution and the investigation would be directed, make whatever decisions need
to be made as they are appropriate, and make sure the investigation is comprehensive and it goes wherever the leads take us,” said Mr. White, a former Lorain County prosecutor.
Mr. O’Brien said he has chosen David Buchman, chief of his white-collar crime section. John Weglian, an assistant county prosecutor, will represent Lucas County, Mr. O’Brien said.
Mr. White and Mr. Lockhart are expected to name their representatives today.
Meeting on June 14
A meeting of all agencies involved in the investigation of the state’s failed rare-coin investment is set for June 14.
“It is our hope that prior to that date, we can address the questions dealing with the direction of the investigation, securing the records that are necessary, and providing the answers to primarily what kinds of charges and in what jurisdictions we should seek them,” Mr. O’Brien said.
Mr. O’Brien said the investigation will determine whether federal or state prosecutors take the lead on criminal charges.
Mr. White said the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District will remain in charge of the separate investigation of Mr. Noe’s alleged federal campaign-finance violations.
David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, confirmed he met yesterday with members of the inspector general’s office to discuss the investigation.
Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said the task force has a lot of work ahead of it as it reviews transactions in different parts of Ohio and across several states before it reaches any conclusions.
“A lot of investigatory work has to go into the decision making process on all of it,” she said.
She declined to say what kinds of charges, and against whom, could result from the investigation.
The preliminary work, however, “certainly suggests criminal activity.”
“Be assured, we will be very, very diligent and meticulous in researching this and where it leads,” she said.
Since 1998, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has invested $50 millon with two rare-coin funds set up by Mr. Noe, a Republican fund-raiser and Maumee coin dealer.
After revelations in The Blade about problems with the fund, including lost and stolen coins, the state decided to pull out of the coin funds.
Last week, lawyers for Mr. Noe informed Mr. O’Brien that $10 million to $12 million is unaccounted for.
State Sen. Marc Dann, fl anked by fellow Democrats Sen. Teresa
Fedor, left, and Sen. C.J. Prentiss of Cleveland, outlines reforms
proposed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
(
ASSOCIATED PRESS
)
|
Right call made
State Sen. Jeff Jacobson, a Republican from suburban Dayton, said federal and state prosecutors made the right call by forming a task force to collaborate.
“Hopefully, it will lead to vigorous action taken as quickly as possible to pursue this to its full extent,” Mr. Jacobson said.
State Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from suburban Youngstown who has been outspoken on the unfolding scandal, said the creation of the task force is a “great step forward.”
He said investigators, in addition to looking at the rare-coin deals, must also look at what government officials knew, and when they knew it.
Meanwhile, the ongoing federal investigation into Mr. Noe’s political activities takes a dramatic turn this morning with the anticipated start of testimony before a federal grand jury in Toledo in the U.S. District Court building.
Law-enforcement officials have acknowledged that they are looking into campaign contributions to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in 2003 and a number of people involved are scheduled to appear before the grand jury.
Among the anticipated witnesses are Joe Kidd, the former director of the Lucas County elections board, Betty Shultz, a Toledo city council member, and Sam Thurber, husband of Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber.
All three have told The Blade they intend to appear.
At issue are contributions they and others made to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2003 and whether Mr. Noe was the source of those contributions.
Others whose donations have caught the attention of investigators include former Toledo mayor Donna Owens, former state representative Sally Perz, her husband, Joe, and her daughter, and two of Mr. Noe’s co-workers at Vintage Coins and Collectibles, partner Tim Lapointe and executive assistant Susan Metzger.
Mr. Lapointe’s wife, Linda, also donated.Most gave $2,000
All of the above gave the Bush-Cheney campaign $2,000 except the Thurbers; each of them gave $1,950 to the campaign. The donations were made in the weeks just before and after the Oct. 30, 2003, fund-raiser attended by the President.
Although the grand jury proceedings are secret, the potential witnesses will be called to appear before the grand jury today and tomorrow, providing a better understanding of who is involved in the investigation.
Mr. Noe will not be attending nor is he invited, his attorney, Jon Richardson, said yesterday.
At issue is whether Mr. Noe skirted federal campaign spending limits by giving money to people who would then contribute to the Bush-Cheney campaign, law-enforcement sources said.
Mr. Noe had contributed the maximum $2,000 more than a month before the big fund-raiser, which was coordinated by Brian Hicks, a former Taft aide who is now a lobbyist and consultant in Columbus.
The Ohio Ethics Commission is investigating Mr. Hicks for his acknowledged use of Mr. Noe’s Florida home on two occasions.
Mr. Hicks told The Blade last month that he stayed in the home, once for as many as five nights.
He said he paid between $300 and $500 for the stay and did not disclose it to the ethics commission because he said he had followed the law and paid fair market value.Under market value
Real estate experts in Florida told The Blade that a similar stay would cost between $1,500 and $3,000.
The grand jury proceeding will be one of the most high-profile grand jury sessions since 1985, when Paul “Butch” Wilson faced federal gambling charges in Clevleand.
One of the most high profile witnesses in that case was Ray Kest, the county treasurer at the time.
Mr. Kest dropped out of his bid for Toledo mayor after his association with Wilson, a convicted gambler from Toledo, was revealed.
Mr. Kest was Wilson’s personal and business accountant, but he claimed he knew nothing about the gambling operation.
He was never formally accused of any wrongdoing, but he did acknowledge his free use of Wilson’s Acapulco condominium in the early 1980s.
Contact James Drew at:jdrew@theblade.com or614-221-0496.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
Search
advertisement
