|
Mr. Noe was the only person named in the indictment and prosecutors said federal rules prohibit them from identifying the conduits. Ms. Shultz is on the ballot Nov. 8, seeking another four-year term on City Council. She has repeatedly declined to talk about her grand jury testimony. Earlier this year, she told The Blade that she had made the contribution with her own money. In addition to “conduits” who received between $1,750 and $4,000 from Mr. 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. In an effort to disguise the scheme, prosecutors said Mr. Noe gave the conduits different amounts, usually just below the ultimate contribution amount. For instance, prosecutors said he gave one conduit $1,750 on Oct. 22, 2003. That person then contributed the maximum $2,000 on the same day. Prosecutors believe the Bush-Cheney campaign was unaware of Mr. Noe's alleged laundering. The chief fund-raiser for the event, Jessica “Scottie” May, testified before the grand jury in July. She works for Hicks Partners, the Columbus lobbying and political consulting firm hired to run the fund-raiser. The firm is run by Brian Hicks, Gov. Bob Taft's former chief of staff. Mr. Hicks was convicted of an ethics violation this summer for accepting a cut-rate vacation at Mr. Noe's home in the Florida Keys. Since the revelation of Mr. Noe's dealings with the state, the announcement of the federal investigation, and the subsequent convictions of Governor Taft and Mr. Hicks for ethics violations, Democrats and activists have seized on the opportunity for change. Democrats have tried to paint Mr. Noe and the Taft administration as part of a “culture of corruption” and used near-daily press conferences and attacks to make their point. Yesterday, members of the group Reform Ohio Now attended the press conference, holding up signs about Mr. Noe's coin funds. Mr. Hillman, the chief of the Justice Department's public integrity section, said the indictment does not allege that state coin-fund money was funneled to the Bush-Cheney campaign. However, if that proved true, he said it could be considered an “illegal” source of campaign funds. That could trigger a stiffer penalty, he said. The Blade was the first to report in April that the state had invested $50 million in Mr. Noe's two rare-coin funds, that coins were missing from the funds, and that Mr. Noe had written off $850,000 in bad loans he had made with state money. The revelations launched several state investigations that are ongoing. The indictments yesterday in the federal campaign money-laundering case mark another point in the rapid fall of a man who less than a year ago was celebrating at the President's inaugural and who had the ear of power brokers in Columbus and Washington. Since the investigations began, he has resigned from posts at the U.S. Mint, the Ohio Board of Regents, and the Ohio Turnpike Commission. He has sold his Maumee condominium and his million-dollar home on Lake Erie as well as boats and cars. He surrendered his passport to state authorities months ago. Politicians from Washington to California — including President Bush — have sought to return Mr. Noe's political contributions, which exceed $200,000 since 1990. In two months of grand jury testimony, a number of well-known or well-connected people made the trip to the U.S. District Court downtown to testify before the grand jury. Joe Kidd, a former executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections. Mr. Kidd was the first person to tip off authorities of suspected money laundering by Mr. Noe, sources have said. He gave $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign, but did not attend the fund-raiser. Doug Talbott, a former Taft aide who became a Columbus lobbyist. Mr. Talbott was a member of the “Noe Supper Club,” at which Mr. Noe wined and dined government officials at Morton's Steak House in Columbus. Mr. Noe gave Mr. Talbott $39,000 to help him buy a cottage in the Lakeside community. Mr. Talbott gave $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Susan Metzger, former executive assistant at Vintage Coins and Collectibles, Mr. Noe's now shuttered Monclova Township coin shop. She gave the Bush campaign $2,000 and was chairman of the Bush-Cheney efforts in Lucas County. Mike Boyle, a local businessman and the son of longtime Democratic power broker Bill Boyle, who has known Mr. Noe for years. Mr. Boyle contributed $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Paul Swy and Bart Kulish, who both work at a Bedford Township manufacturing firm where Joe Restivo is an executive. Mr. Restivo is Mr. Noe's brother-in-law. Mr. Kulish told The Blade in June that he and Mr. Swy were invited to the Bush fund-raiser by Mr. Restivo. They were given immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony, Mr. Kulish said. Mr. Kulish gave $2,000 and Mr. Swy and his wife each gave $1,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Theodore Wasky, special agent in charge of the Cleveland FBI office, said as many as 40 agents worked the case over the past year. He said other aspects of the investigation are continuing and issued a stern warning to people who may have information regarding the Noe probes. “I would encourage anyone with information to get on the train. This is cache, read story here
|
