Coingate: More Theft in Ohio

More Theft in Ohio

Because this isn't yet a national story, it has gone under the radar, but I want to bring to y'all's attention something very interesting that is going on in Ohio:

Coingate Concerns Resonate to D.C.

"Coingate" is the press moniker for a truly amazing scandal involving a Republican donor and party functionary named Tom Noe (I know, it would be better if he were a doctor) who is a dealer in rare coins. Noe, an enthusiastic and prolific contributor to Bush's 2004 presidential campaign, somehow managed to convince James Conrad, the head of Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation, that it would be a good idea for him to 'invest' $50 million of the Bureau's money, through Noe, in rare coins. Noe now appears to have embezzled $10-12 million of that money. Most of it probably went, as Franklin County prosecutor Ron O'Brien put it, for Noe's "personal use"...but it's quite likely that a fair amount of it found its way into the Bush campaign coffers, because Noe is also under investigation for helping the Bush team break campaign finance laws.