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Ohio's Tom Noe Indicted on 53 Felony Counts

By Jeralyn, Section
Posted on Mon Feb 13, 2006 at 12:24:28 PM EST
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Ohio coin dealer and Republican money man Tom Noe has been indicted on 53 state felony counts of theft, corruption and money laundering alleging he stole "from a state-run investment fund for injured workers." He pleaded not guilty this morning. The text of the indictment is here.

Noe, already indicted on federal counts, is in jail, trying to make bond on the state case.

Noe, 51, turned himself over to authorities at the Lucas County Courthouse when it opened Monday. Noe's attorney Jon Richardson entered pleas of not guilty on each count on behalf of Noe, who was taken into custody. He was being held at the Lucas County Jail while he tried to meet a $500,000 bond set by Judge Thomas Osowik of Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Richardson, asking for a lower bond, told Osowik that Noe had already put up a $350,000 bond in federal court, but Osowik rejected the request. If he's convicted, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates says Noe could be sentenced to a total of 172 1/2 years in prison for all the charges.

As to the federal charges:

Just last fall, a federal grand jury indicted Noe on three counts accusing him of exceeding federal campaign limits. Prosecutors say he "knowingly and willfully" funneled contributions through several others to the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign, and causing the Bush campaign to file a false campaign finance statement.

Prosecutors say Noe illegally funneled $45,400 in contributions to Bush to fulfill his pledge to raise $50,000 for a fundraiser in Columbus in October 2003. The fundraiser was just over a year before Ohio's electoral votes gave Bush the White House.

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