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Page 3 of 3 In fact, in March 2004, a couple of months after Wenzel got the tip, his son was elected to the Lucas County Republican Central Committee, and from April 15, 2005, to the end of May 2005, Wenzel's son was on the payroll of the Ohio Republican Party. 
Wenzel's silence did not go unnoticed. A month before Wenzel left the Blade, in a speech at the Lucas County Republicans' annual dinner, Bernadette announced that Wenzel would be leaving the Blade to run his consulting firm and wished him well.
It is also now known that many Republican officials in Ohio suppressed the news of the campaign finance violations to save the Bush campaign. The Blade has learned that the US Attorney’s Office knew of the allegations against Noe about 3 weeks before the election.
Moreover, by October 15, 2004, the FBI was involved, and the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice in Washington had sent an e-mail to the US Attorney's office in Cleveland, to authorize the investigation.
According to the Blade, records released in June 2005, show that high-ranking aides to Governor Taft also worked to suppress revelations about the BWC’s $215 million hedge fund loss in the final days before the election.
On September 27, 2004, documents show that the BWC’s administrator-chief executive, James Conrad, learned about the loss and in an October 26, 2004, e-mail, Conrad said that the “entire value” of the portfolio was down about $225 million.
As for the media getting information about Noe shenanigans, he had the whole state tied up in knots. When a case by the Blade seeking access to Noe-related records ended up before the Ohio Supreme Court, all five of the justices who had received contributions from Noe had to recuse themselves.
Critics say the scale of the scandal at the BWC could have definitely made a difference in the presidential race. But instead of alerting the public, on election day, a Columbus law firm was hired as special counsel, by Republican Attorney General Petro’’s office, to investigate the hedge fund matter.
On February 13, 2006, the final shoe dropped and Noe was indicted on 53 felonies. A grand jury charged Noe with 22 counts of forgery, 11 counts of money laundering, 8 counts of tampering with records, 5 counts of grand theft, 6 counts of aggravated theft, and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
According to a February 13, 2006 article by the Associated Press, Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles said investigators know where the money went, but would not say where.
"Investigators," the AP said, "were looking into whether any of the stolen money was donated to political candidates."
On May 31, 2006, State Democratic Senator Marc Dann, told the Toledo Blade that he thinks Noe will be able to cut a deal because he had so much information on other people involved.
““He knows where a lot of the bodies are buried, and not buried. He knows what Jim Conrad knew about this, who in Bob Taft’s office facilitated the second $25 million, who in George Voinovich’s office facilitated the first $25 million investment, and so he has a lot of information that only he knows about the rare-coin investment,”
Senator Dann said. If the recent history of revelations is any indication, many more bodies may indeed be unearthed.
So far the investigation has led Governor Taft and 2 of his former aides to plead no contest to ethics charges. On July 29, 2005, Brian Hicks, Taft’s former Chief of Staff, and Cherie Carroll, Hicks' executive assistant, admitted that they took gifts from Noe.
Hicks pled no contest to knowingly failing to list on financial disclosure forms that he and his family stayed at Noe's home in Florida in 2002 and 2003, and Carroll pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of "recklessly" accepting meals from Noe valued at over $500.
On February 9, 2006, the Ohio Elections Commission referred 2 other former Taft aides for prosecution. H Douglas Talbott faced charges for, and admitted, that he funneled money from Noe to three Ohio Supreme Court Justices and accepted a $39,000 loan from Noe, and J Douglas Moorman was referred because he failed to report a $5,000 loan from Noe.
On June 1, 2006, the Blade reported that Bush and the RNC returned a total of $6,000 in direct contributions from the Noes.
“State and federal politicians,” the Blade said, “from Mr. Taft to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican nominee for governor, to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - have returned tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from Noe and his wife.”
However, the Bush gang is not too anxious to turn over any more money. Instead, the Blade said, “Mr. Bush and his political advisers are taking a wait-and-see approach.”
"We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "We will make appropriate transfers as directed by the court."
The latest fatality in the rare-coin scheme, is Terrance Gasper, the BWC’s former chief financial officer, who played a central role in the scheme and is reportedly cooperating with federal and state authorities as part of a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty on June 7, 2006, to a felony count of violating the RICO Act by accepting money and other gifts and perks in exchange for doling out millions of dollars in state investments to firms.
Gasper also pleaded guilty to a felony count of money laundering for accepting $25,000 from Noe and a misdemeanor charge of failing to disclose sources of income, gifts and other perks from 1999 to 2005, on his annual ethics filings.
The RICO charge carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence, and Gasper faces a maximum 5-year sentence and a $10,000 fine on the state charges, according to the Toledo Blade.
According to June 7, 2006, article by the Associated Press, “Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he expects more people to be charged this month.”
And the AP reports that “Gasper said he was "more than willing" to help prosecutors,” so who knows who will end up in the slammer next. ============ Evelyn Pringle is a columnist and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America
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