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Rare-coin deal buys scandal for Ohio governor
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAYWed Aug 17, 7:44 AM ET
The family of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has been known for many things -
political success, conservatism and public service spanning more than a
century.
Until now, the whiff of serious scandal has never touched one of
America's great political dynasties, a family that has produced a
president, two U.S. senators and a governor.
But Taft, 63, now is mired in a series of controversies that range from
the state losing more than $10 million investing in rare coins to his
golf outings allegedly paid for by lobbyists and businessmen but not
reported on the governor's financial disclosure forms.
The once-popular Taft, re-elected in a landslide in 2002, now has the
lowest approval rating of any governor in the nation: 17% approve of
the job he's doing while 76% disapprove, according to SurveyUSA, a
polling firm that works for media outlets. Taft cannot run for governor
again because of term limits.
"The Taft name has always meant men who are conservative, even stodgy,
but always ethical," says John Green, director of the Bliss Institute
of Applied Politics at the university of Akron. "These investigations
are a blow to the magic of the great family name."
Like many scandals, this one started about one thing: The Toledo Blade
reported in April that Thomas Noe, a prominent Republican fundraiser
and friend of the governor, had been given $50 million from the Bureau
of Workers' Compensation to invest for the state in rare coins. The
governor defended his friend, a long-time supporter, before it was
revealed that $10 million to $13 million of the rare coin fund is
unaccounted for.
Investigation widens
Now the scandal - "Coingate," as it is called in Ohio - has expanded
into other areas and includes charges of coverup, cronyism and ethical
lapses.
"This is one of the larger investigations we've ever been involved in,"
says David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, an
independent board appointed by the governor to monitor ethics of public
servants.
Coingate highlights include:
APThomas Noe
=B7 Brian Hicks, the governor's former chief of staff, was found guilty
of misdemeanor charges July 29 for failing to report the value of
staying at coin dealer Noe's $1.3 million home in the Florida Keys. He
was fined $1,000.
=B7 The workers' compensation fund losses revealed it lost another $215
million investing with a politically connected firm in high-risk hedge
funds. Cleveland's Plain Dealer reported that, in all, firms that
managed $14 billion for the state workers' compensation fund
contributed nearly $5 million to Republicans from 1997 through 2004,
including $700,000 to Taft.
=B7 The Ohio Ethics Commission last week sent prosecutors details of an
investigation into the governor's failure to report up to 60 golf
outings on his financial disclosure forms. The ethics commission did
not make its findings public. Ohio law requires public officials to
report gifts valued over $75.
Biggest names in political dynasty
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is a member of one of the USA's great political
dynasties. The Tafts are Yale-educated Republicans, like the Bush
family. Noteworthy family members and their relationship to the
governor:
Great-great-grandfather Alphonso Taft was secretary of War, attorney
general and an ambassador in the 1870s and 1880s. He co-founded Yale's
secret society Skull and Bones, whose members include both Presidents
Bush and Sen. John Kerry.
Great-grandfather William Howard Taft was president from 1909 to 1913
and chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930.
Grandfather Robert Alphonso Taft, known as Mr. Republican, was a U.S.
senator serving Ohio from 1939 to 1955. He unsuccessfully sought the
GOP presidential nomination in 1940, 1948 and 1952.
Father Robert Taft was a U.S. senator serving Ohio from 1971 to 1977.
Bob Taft and his wife, Hope Taft, have one child, an adult daughter,
Anna, who has not been involved in politics.
Contributing: Dennis Cauchon
=B7 A veteran federal prosecutor, who won the conviction on corruption
charges of former U.S. representative James Traficant, D-Ohio, is
overseeing a federal and state law enforcement task force investigating
Coingate.
The governor denies wrongdoing and says he didn't know Noe had received
$50 million in state funds until shortly before it was revealed
publicly. Taft promises to eventually release more details on his golf
outings. He has hired a prominent Ohio criminal defense attorney to
represent him.
"We cooperated with the ethics commission and, when the inquiry is
done, we'll release details on all (golf) outings the governor may have
failed to list," says Orest Holubec, a Taft spokesman. He says it's not
surprising that the governor has hired a criminal defense attorney:
"Everybody has the right to look for the best attorney."
William Wilkinson, Noe's attorney, says "everyone needs to be careful
not to prejudge Mr. Noe or Gov. Taft or anyone else until the entire
story is told. There's been a tendency ... for people to rush to
conclusions based solely on the fact that the coin funds experienced an
investment shortfall."
Two close friends
Holubec says the governor had known Noe for more than 20 years and had
no reason to suspect something was amiss. He says there's no connection
between Noe's fundraising and his getting the $50 million to invest in
coins.
Taft and Noe golfed together, and Taft helped roast Noe last year at
the coin dealer's 50th birthday party, attended by many prominent
Republicans. Taft also appointed the coin dealer as chairman of the
state turnpike commission and to the Ohio Board of Regents, which
oversees state universities. Noe resigned both positions in May.
"This is not just about coins. It's about a pay-to-play system that has
been going on in Ohio for years," says state Rep. Chris Redfern, House
Democratic leader. "Since I got here in 1999, it's been an open secret
that if you contribute money, you get the state jobs you want and the
state contracts you want."
Redfern says the Ohio Constitution does not permit the impeachment or
recall of a governor, so Taft has little risk of losing his job, which
he is scheduled to leave in 2007. But the controversy could signal the
end of a five-generation political dynasty.
File photoWilliam Howard Taft
The Ohio governor is the great-grandson of William Howard Taft, the
27th president. Taft was the first president to golf in office and his
love of the game created the nation's first golfing boom. Taft's
grandfather, Robert Alphonso Taft, was favored to win the Republican
presidential nominee in 1952 but lost to Dwight Eisenhower.
The family's legacy in Republican circles is similar to that of the
Bush family. By tradition, the men in both families are named for their
prominent forebears, attend Yale university and run for political
office.
Bob Taft played a key role in the resurgence of Republicans in Ohio
politics. Taft defeated an incumbent Democrat for secretary of state in
1991 and was elected governor in 1998. Republicans now hold both Ohio
U=2ES. Senate seats and all statewide offices and control both branches
of the legislature.
Green, the political scientist, says Coingate has given the Democrats
their best chance in years to reclaim political control of Ohio, a
state crucial in presidential elections.
"The investment in rare coins has captured the public's imagination,"
Green says. "People feel in their gut that it's a bad idea. That's
devastating for a governor who's never been flashy but had the Taft
reputation for integrity and good judgment."
Copyright =A9 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Copyright =A9 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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