The Yale Free Press

Anyone with an ounce of investment intuition knows that the greatest returns will come from businesses and sectors with good prospects for high demand and profits. Why then, was $55 million from the already-underfunded Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation converted to rare coins? Old small change is hardly a growth industry. Ohio is the only state that invests in rare coins, and it has done so because of Tom Noe—the rare-coin dealer who benefited from the $55 million giveaway, and to no one’s surprise, a prominent GOP fund raiser.

Noe now stands accused of mismanaging funds, violating campaign finance laws, and using the funds to give kick-backs to other local Republicans. Moreover, $13 million are currently missing from the rare coin investment. This recent exposure of political corruption provides a powerful reminder of how single-party control—by any party—can lead to weakened oversight and ethical complacence.

The case first started when two coins worth $300, 000 went missing in 2003. Then state officials discovered that another 119 coins valued at $93,000 were missing. And now Mr. Noe’s lawyers admit that as much as $13 million cannot be accounted for. Why was so much money invested in something as uncommon as rare coins, this man’s hobby? And who should investigate, since so many of the politicians and even some judicial members received money from Mr. Noe?

In the last 15 years Mr. Noe and his wife have given more than $200, 000 to politicians, political parties, and political action committees. Their giving increased in 1998, the first year they received money to invest in rare coins from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation. Their generosity has been directed at individuals from Governor Bob Taft himself, to state auditor Betty Montgomery, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, and Attorney General Jim Petro. Not only did important political figures accept possible stolen money, some also accepted free gifts, from numerous golf outings to expensive steak dinners.

Only two individuals have been prosecuted so far: Brian Hicks, former chief of staff for Gov. Taft, and Cherie Carroll, former Taft staffer and Mr. Hicks’ ex-statehouse assistant and current associate in his political lobbying firm. Hicks enjoyed cut-rate stays at the Noe vacation property in Florida, while Carroll was a part of the so-called Noe Supper Club, where powerful insiders were treated to evenings at a costly Columbus steakhouse. Each pleaded no contest to first-degree misdemeanors and agreed to $1,000 fines.

What does it say about the state’s criminal justice structure when the first punishments are nothing but petty fines? Columbus Municipal Court Judge Scott Vanderkarr could have sentenced Mr. Hicks and Ms. Carroll up to 180 days in jail. He had an opportunity—as well as an obligation—to come down hard on these two individuals as a warning and a statement to the citizens of Ohio.

What, then, will happen to even more powerful figures involved? Governor Bob Taft, for example, received money from Mr. Noe, as well as numerous free golf games which he did not disclose as required and refuses to explain. An even more difficult question is how to investigate Tom Noe himself, since he appears to keep half the political officials in the state in his pocket. Five Republican State Supreme Court Justices all accepted money from Noe as well, and Greg White, the U.S. Attorney for Ohio’s northern district, has close ties to Taft and Noe . Mr. White is an important part of the investigation into whether or not Mr. Noe violated campaign finance laws during the recent presidential election. Can all of these political figures so close to Tom Noe be expected to prosecute him to the full extent of the law?

A total of thirteen investigations into influence peddling and corruption around Mr. Noe and the rare coin deal are currently being carried out. Will any of them recover the money stolen from the public purse? The players involved are skilled in the art of political stalling, so the outcome will not be known for some time now. The prognosis, however, is not good. When an insider’s circle of influence extends all the way through the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, corruption becomes a law unto itself.

Gregory Price is a freshman in Trumbull College.