The best friend that Ohio Republicans ever had is
having a bad day.
Prosecutors charged a prominent GOP fundraiser Monday with theft and money laundering in an investigation of a controversial state investment in rare coins that has embroiled Republicans in scandal during an election year.
Coin dealer Tom Noe already is charged in a separate case with using colleagues and associates to illegally funnel $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign.
The 53-count indictment over the coin investment, which also includes charges of forgery and tampering with records, concludes a 10-month investigation by a team of state and federal prosecutors into the $50 million investment Noe managed for the state insurance fund for injured workers.
Ohio is shaping up to be a huge battle this fall as Democrats smell blood and Republicans fight hard to keep the state in their hands in the runup to the 2008 presidential elections.
Today is the Ohio filing deadline, so we'll have a good picture tomorrow of what the Ohio battlefield will look like tomorrow (or soon thereafter).