On August 27, 2005, Noe's attorney released a statement pointing the finger at Taft and said Taft was informed of the rare-coin operation involving BWC funds by Noe on May 13, 2001, at a Toledo golf course after Taft publicly claimed that he was unaware of Noe's dealings with the WBC until he read about it in an article in the April 3, 2005 the Toledo Blade.
But this month another revelation came to light adding more fuel to the fire. On June 16, 2006, "Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, a member of the federal-state task force investigating the bureau, confirmed that the probe has expanded into the state's five pension funds, focusing on possible gratuities from brokers and other firms to pension system officials," according to the June 16, 2006 Toledo Blade.
The case is heating up on another front as well. The scandal has now reportedly spread to the world of sports memorabilia. According to Michael O'Keeffe, in the June 17, 2006, Daily News, investigators suspect that the world's largest sports auction house, Mastro Auctions, may have played a role in what is being called "Coingate."
It seem that when investigators raided Noe's company, Vintage Coins and Collectibles in May 2005, they found collectibles including everything "from Beanie Babies to 19th-century political banners to Bob Gibson-signed baseballs -- worth an estimated $3.5 million," O'Keeffe said.
An Ohio auditor told O'Keeffe that Mastro Auctions sold at least $1.3 million worth of memorabilia to Noe's two funds.
"Most of the seized collectibles are political items," O'Keeffe said, "but Noe also won numerous sports lots, including Hall of Fame plaques purchased for $16,541, a Mickey Mantle bat ($14,014), a collection of 10,000 baseball cards ($8,603), 100 balls signed by Ted Williams ($29,078) and 12 Walter Payton-signed footballs ($4,016)."
The Lucas Country prosecutor John Weglian told O'Keeffe that he will focus on Mastro Auctions after Noe's trial in October which he says, will be a complex case that will require at least 4 weeks and involve over100 witnesses.
"Until that case is resolved," he told O'Keeffe, "Mastro Auctions will remain on a back burner."
In May, 2006, Noe pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws by funneling over $45,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign by having 24 people, including several former and current Ohio state officials, attend a $2,000 a plate fundraiser and make donations in their own names with money supplied by Noe.
Noe is facing a maximum of 5 years in prison on each of the 3 charges and a potential fine of close to $1 million. Assistant US Attorney, John Pearson, of the public integrity section of the US Department of Justice, told reporters that he will seek an even harsher penalty for Noe because of the "potential loss of public faith in the presidential race."
At the time of the indictment, US attorneys called Noe's conduct "one of the most blatant and excessive criminal campaign finance schemes we have encountered."
But Noe's misdeeds did not go unrewarded. According to the May 31, 2006 Toledo Blade, as he rose to prominence in the Republican party, Noe "secured high-profile gubernatorial appointments to the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees and the Ohio Board of Regents, and for a time was chairman of the regents -- despite being a college dropout. He also was appointed to the Ohio Turnpike Commission, where he also was chairman."
Noe became a Bush "Pioneer" by raising at least $100,000 for the Bush reelection campaign And tit-for-tat, in May, 2003, Noe was appointed to a committee of the US Mint, a panel that advises the US Treasury secretary on themes and designs for coins and congressional gold medals and was named chairman, according to the Blade.
But funneling money to Republican politicians is not the only part Noe played in the theft of the Presidential election in Ohio. For many years he was Chairman of the Lucas County Board of Elections and was involved in the deal that brought the now infamous Diebold opti-scan voting machines into the inner city of Toledo where many of the machines mysteriously broke down on election day.
Hearings conducted by the Free Press after the election confirmed that thousands of inner city Toledo voters were disenfranchised due to the faulty machines.
On July 29, 2005, Richard Hayes Phillips, PhD testified at an Election Assessment Hearing in Houston, Texas and said, "I have investigated the Ohio election results, precinct by precinct, and have found three categories of problems: voter suppression, ballots cast but not counted, and alteration of the vote count."
But this month another revelation came to light adding more fuel to the fire. On June 16, 2006, "Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, a member of the federal-state task force investigating the bureau, confirmed that the probe has expanded into the state's five pension funds, focusing on possible gratuities from brokers and other firms to pension system officials," according to the June 16, 2006 Toledo Blade.
The case is heating up on another front as well. The scandal has now reportedly spread to the world of sports memorabilia. According to Michael O'Keeffe, in the June 17, 2006, Daily News, investigators suspect that the world's largest sports auction house, Mastro Auctions, may have played a role in what is being called "Coingate."
It seem that when investigators raided Noe's company, Vintage Coins and Collectibles in May 2005, they found collectibles including everything "from Beanie Babies to 19th-century political banners to Bob Gibson-signed baseballs -- worth an estimated $3.5 million," O'Keeffe said.
"Most of the seized collectibles are political items," O'Keeffe said, "but Noe also won numerous sports lots, including Hall of Fame plaques purchased for $16,541, a Mickey Mantle bat ($14,014), a collection of 10,000 baseball cards ($8,603), 100 balls signed by Ted Williams ($29,078) and 12 Walter Payton-signed footballs ($4,016)."
The Lucas Country prosecutor John Weglian told O'Keeffe that he will focus on Mastro Auctions after Noe's trial in October which he says, will be a complex case that will require at least 4 weeks and involve over100 witnesses.
"Until that case is resolved," he told O'Keeffe, "Mastro Auctions will remain on a back burner."
In May, 2006, Noe pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws by funneling over $45,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign by having 24 people, including several former and current Ohio state officials, attend a $2,000 a plate fundraiser and make donations in their own names with money supplied by Noe.
Noe is facing a maximum of 5 years in prison on each of the 3 charges and a potential fine of close to $1 million. Assistant US Attorney, John Pearson, of the public integrity section of the US Department of Justice, told reporters that he will seek an even harsher penalty for Noe because of the "potential loss of public faith in the presidential race."
At the time of the indictment, US attorneys called Noe's conduct "one of the most blatant and excessive criminal campaign finance schemes we have encountered."
But Noe's misdeeds did not go unrewarded. According to the May 31, 2006 Toledo Blade, as he rose to prominence in the Republican party, Noe "secured high-profile gubernatorial appointments to the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees and the Ohio Board of Regents, and for a time was chairman of the regents -- despite being a college dropout. He also was appointed to the Ohio Turnpike Commission, where he also was chairman."
Noe became a Bush "Pioneer" by raising at least $100,000 for the Bush reelection campaign And tit-for-tat, in May, 2003, Noe was appointed to a committee of the US Mint, a panel that advises the US Treasury secretary on themes and designs for coins and congressional gold medals and was named chairman, according to the Blade.
But funneling money to Republican politicians is not the only part Noe played in the theft of the Presidential election in Ohio. For many years he was Chairman of the Lucas County Board of Elections and was involved in the deal that brought the now infamous Diebold opti-scan voting machines into the inner city of Toledo where many of the machines mysteriously broke down on election day.
Hearings conducted by the Free Press after the election confirmed that thousands of inner city Toledo voters were disenfranchised due to the faulty machines.
On July 29, 2005, Richard Hayes Phillips, PhD testified at an Election Assessment Hearing in Houston, Texas and said, "I have investigated the Ohio election results, precinct by precinct, and have found three categories of problems: voter suppression, ballots cast but not counted, and alteration of the vote count."
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