Posted By: Mark Thatcher

Fri Nov 3, 7:47 PM ET

TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer accused of stealing $2 million from a $50 million state investment fund used the money to buy boats and fix up his homes, an investigator testified Friday as prosecutors finished their case. ADVERTISEMENT
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Tom Noe, 52, a former Republican fundraiser, has pleaded not guilty to charges of theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity. His defense will begin Monday, and his lawyers said it might not take more than a day.

The scandal at the state investment fund for injured workers has become an embarrassment for the state GOP and could help Democrats win the governor's office Tuesday for the first time since 1990.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation gave Noe $25 million to invest in rare coins in 1998, followed by another $25 million in 2001. Democrats allege that he got the money because of his political connections.

Noe wrote checks to himself totaling about $1.8 million, bureau investigator Dineen Day testified Friday. Records showed that only a few coins were bought for the state, Day said.

Investigations into the coin investments have led to separate ethics charges against Gov. Bob Taft, who pleaded no contest last year to failing to report golf outings and other gifts.

Noe, in a separate case, pleaded guilty this year to funneling $45,000 to Bush's re-election campaign and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in federal prison. He won't begin that sentence until after the state charges are resolved.

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On the Net:

Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation: http://www.ohiobwc.com/

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