Long before four prominent local Republicans took Tom Noe s money and used it to attend a $2,000-a-plate fund-raiser for President Bush in 2003, the former Toledo-area coin dealer had been picking up the tab for two of them.

Investigative reports released yesterday after the convictions of Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber, Toledo City Councilman Betty Shultz, former Toledo Mayor Donna Owens, and former state Rep. Sally Perz show that Noe had treated Ms. Thurber and Ms. Owens on several occasions and neither had disclosed those contacts.

The women pleaded no contest in Toledo Municipal Court yesterday to the misdemeanor charge they faced of failing to disclose a meal from the October, 2003, fund-raiser paid by Noe. Visiting Judge Mark Reddin of Bowling Green Municipal Court found them guilty and fined them $1,000 apiece, plus court costs, and the cost of the investigation, which has not been determined. He could have imposed a jail sentence of up to six months.

This case shows the importance of disclosure, said Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio inspector general s office. If the women had listed their ties to Noe earlier, he said, it may have generated a different level of attention on Mr. Noe.

Noe pleaded guilty in May to three federal charges related to the Bush fund-raiser and is awaiting sentencing, which could approach three years in federal prison. He also faces more than four dozen other felony counts in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the two rare-coin funds he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation. His trial is set for October.

A total of 14 people have now been convicted or charged in relation to the Noe scandal. Besides Noe, the women represent the most high-profile local individuals to be caught up in the ongoing probe that includes the conviction of Gov. Bob Taft.

It s the end to I think a very unfortunate chapter in our Lucas County history, said Julia Bates, Lucas County prosecutor.

Lynn Grimshaw, the special prosecutor who handled the cases, said he was satisfied with the penalties. The fines mirrored those given to others, including Governor Taft, who were found guilty last year of failing to disclose gifts from Noe and others.

This isn t aggravated robbery. This isn t a homicide, Mr. Grimshaw told reporters outside the courthouse. Probably the worst punishment is being in front of you people and being on the news. That s probably worse than anything else ... It s embarrassing to them. That s probably more punishment than the $1,000 fine.

The cost of the investigation could approach $4,000, Mr. Nick said.

The convictions likely mark the last legal ramifications stemming from Noe s scheme to help him inflate his contributions to President Bush s re-election campaign. His fund-raising acumen earned him the status of Pioneer for raising at least $100,000 for the Bush campaign.

But outside of Noe, only the four women were charged.

All of the other alleged conduits were granted immunity by the U.S. attorney s office from federal charges in exchange for their cooperation with the Noe investigation.

That immunity did not extend to state charges. Because the women were either elected officials or sat on state-appointed boards, they were subject to the state s ethics disclosure laws. They were formally charged with knowingly filing a false financial disclosure statement, which includes all sources of gifts and income.

In the Noe case, they were charged with not disclosing the gift of a meal the fund-raiser itself. Ms. Perz had to file because she was on the state Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators and Ms. Owens had to file as a member of the Ohio Industrial Commission.

Each of these four knew or should have known it was illegal, Mr. Nick said. He joined Mr. Grimshaw in court yesterday.

Afterward, Ms. Thurber would only say she would absolutely not resign her post as a county commissioner. The other three women declined comment, although Ms. Perz issued a written statement.

In it, Ms. Perz said the Noe saga had taught her several lessons, including:

• First, check out all details oneself as opposed to trusting a friend.

• Second, don t be talked into anything.

• Third, know there is always more to the story than presents itself.

• And last, slow down enough to do and understand the above.

She did, however, say that she takes full responsibility for her actions.

Like she did last summer, when she criticized Noe after she testified before a federal grand jury, Ms. Perz said she trusted Noe.

I have paid a price for misplacing that trust, she wrote. It s been a painful lesson to learn and I have learned it.

Mr. Grimshaw did not release the investigative report for Ms. Perz, however, citing the objection of her attorney, Barry Savage. The reports contain summaries of interviews to which the women consented.

Mr. Nick said Ms. Perz, during her interview, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. However, he said he does not believe she is under investigation for anything.

As part of a plea agreement reached with Mr. Grimshaw, the women were granted immunity from any other misdemeanors relating to gifts that may be uncovered by the investigation.

During sentencing, Judge Reddin spoke about a recent visit of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer to Buckeye Boys State in which the chief justice spoke about how it is important for people to defend the truth when others are doing wrong.

We all know that all humans have faults that occasionally result in conduct that fall short of standards, Mr. Reddin said before sentencing the women.

H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh, who represented Ms. Owens, Ms. Thurber, and Ms. Shultz, told the judge that his clients cooperated fully with investigators.

Each of these persons are public officials or former public officials, Mr. Hollenbaugh told the judge, referring to his clients. They understand that they are held to a higher standard with respect to reporting requirements. They respect the ethics laws ... And they stand before the court today ready to accept responsibility for the failure to disclose.

The investigative reports released by Mr. Grimshaw revealed additional details, however, about the women s relationships with Noe and his wife, Bernadette.

Ms. Thurber, 42, acknowledged that she and her husband, Sam, are close friends of the Noes and had stayed in the Noes vacation home in the Florida Keys and accepted wine from them. Ms. Thurber had also participated in two of the now-infamous Noe Supper Club meetings at Morton s Steakhouse in Columbus that triggered the convictions of two former Taft aides.

The report indicates that, in addition to not disclosing the 2003 Bush fund-raiser money, she should have disclosed gifts in 2002 and 2004. She was not charged with either.

The reports show that Ms. Owens, 69, was a Noe guest at two Columbus restaurants in 1997 when she was director of the Ohio Department of Commerce. She said she assumed they split the bill at a 1998 lunch at another restaurant.

James Conrad, the former administrator of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, told The Blade last year that Ms. Owens set up and attended a meeting between him and Noe. Mr. Conrad resigned from the bureau last year in the wake of the unfolding scandal surrounding Noe s investment of bureau money in rare coins.

In the report on Ms. Shultz, 76, one of the longest serving female politicians in the state, she described what she called extreme pressure from Bernadette Noe to attend the fund-raiser.

When she met Noe at his former Monclova Township coin shop to talk about it, Ms. Shultz said she could only afford to pay $50 of the $2,000 to attend the Bush fund-raiser. She told investigators that Noe then said words to the effect of let s make up the difference and wrote her a check for $1,950.

Ms. Thurber told investigators that her husband, Sam, claimed a $3,750 check from Noe was for work. She later learned, after questioned by the FBI, that it was probably more in fact a gift.

The reports also show more social ties: Ms. Thurber and Ms. Noe were in the same sorority and Ms. Shultz daughter, Susan Gilmore, was a bridesmaid in Ms. Noe s first wedding.

Contact Mike Wilkinson at: mwilkinson@theblade.com or 419-724-6104.

First Published June 29, 2006, 9:09 a.m.