The long awaited verdict in the Coingate scandal has finally been reached. The jury reached its verdict of
GUILTY on charges of
theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity.
WTOL-TV Toledo
TOLEDO (AP) -- Tom Noe, 52, has been found guilty of theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity. Noe had walked into the courthouse holding hands with his wife, Bernadette.
The jury -- composed of eight women and four men -- reached its verdict Nov. 13. Of those 12 jurors, two are African-American, one is Hispanic and nine are Caucasian. Closing arguments had taken place Nov. 7. At that time, lawyers for Noe, a Republican fundraiser charged with stealing from a $50 million state investment, made one last pitch to jurors in his case. The jury then deliberated Wednesday, Thursday and Monday, taking Friday off for the Veterans Day holiday.
For a little history on Coingate for those of you who don't know, let's consult the Wiki
Coingate is a nickname for the Thomas Noe investment scandal in Ohio revealed in early 2005 in part by Ohio newspaper Toledo Blade. The Ohio government's Bureau of Workers' Compensation fund (BWC) invested hundreds of millions of dollars in high risk or unconventional investment vehicles run by people closely connected to the Ohio Republican Party who had made large campaign contributions to many senior Republican party officials.
A rare coin investment fund has attracted particular scrutiny after it was reported that two coins worth more than $300,000 had been lost. Further investigation then revealed that coins worth $10-$12 million were missing and that only $13 million of the original $50 million invested could be accounted for.
Update: Some more details have come in.Noe was found guilty of 29 of the 40 charges, among them numerous theft and forgery counts. He was found guilty on his chief charge that he engaged in a pattern of corruption in his management of Ohio's $50 million rare-coin fund investment with the bureau. Because he also was found guilty of the aggravated theft, the corruption charge will carry a minimum of 10 years in prison.
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Noe, 52, stood stoic and showed no emotion when the verdicts were read. He was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody by U.S. Marshals so he could begin serving an earlier federal sentence for illegal campaign activity.
Hat tip RallyPointYet another update: Sentencing will be held on November 20th.