[Cross-posted at
Nosey Online]
Because he gives them so many TV ad ideas for the next election. Yesterday, we found out that Tom Noe, along with ex-Taft aide Brian Hicks and other prominent Republicans, had invested Ohio BWC money in an online gambling company. Turns out, this latest plot twist makes Noe look even more disgusting.
Records show that Noe invested at least $135,000 in bureau money in Games Inc., beginning with a $100,000 investment in 2003. He also invested $100,000 from his Maumee company, Vintage Coin & Collectibles.
That initial investment purchased company bonds. But in 2004, Noe started using BWC money to buy Games Inc. stock. By the end of April 2004, he had purchased 40,500 shares for the state at a cost of about $36,000.
Although Games Inc.'s stock started tumbling soon after, Noe didn't sell any shares until this April. He has sold 22,500 shares for a little more than $11,500, according to financial statements through May 2005. [...]
Revelations of Noe's investments in Games Inc. follow allegations that the heavyweight GOP fund-raiser misappropriated millions from a $50 million rare-coin investment that he managed for BWC.
Noe's investment in Games Inc. appears particularly brazen because he used his position as chairman of the Ohio Board of Regents in 2004 to promote a University of Cincinnati study that said Ohio schools would realize an extra $376 million over five years if Ohio permitted online sales of lottery tickets.
"In Ohio, we can buy our license plates online and even file a lawsuit online," Noe said in an April 2004 press release. "Why not make Lottery Online more convenient and accessible to create more educational funding dollars for community colleges and job retraining?"
Oh, how convenient. Yes, Ohioans, it should be easier for your money to find it's way back into my pocket!
Not only did Noe fail to reveal that he was then a Games Inc. investor, but one of the co-authors of the study joined Games Inc.'s board of directors less than three months after participating in the highly touted "independent study."
The idea of an "independent study" in GOP-dominated Ohio is like saying Fox News is fair and balanced.
Say it together folks...
STOP THE BUCKEYE REPUBLICAN MUSICAL CHAIRS!TM