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Pittsburgh coin collector to testify against Tom Noe
Michigan
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By Bobby Kerlik
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Prosecutors have tapped a prominent Pittsburgh businessman as a witness in the Ohio trial of a coin dealer accused of stealing millions from the state.
Henry Gailliot, 64, of Squirrel Hill, described by his lawyer as a "longtime collector of coins of the very highest regard," was subpoenaed to testify against a one-time Republican fundraiser, Tom Noe.
Noe, 52, is charged with stealing at least $2 million from $50 million in rare coin investment funds he managed for the state. A jury trial begins Monday in Toledo in "coin-gate," which is expected to last through Nov. 7.
Gailliot's attorney, Patrick McLaughlin, said his client is cooperating with prosecutors.
"He's a victim in this case," McLaughlin said. "I can't talk about his testimony before the trial."
Noe has pleaded not guilty to theft, money laundering, forgery and corruption charges.
An Ohio audit said Noe funneled the investment money into his own businesses, spent some remodeling his Florida Keys home, bought a tent at the 2003 U.S. Senior Open golf tournament and loaned money to friends.
Court documents name Gailliot as an unwitting participant in the scheme.
Gailliot, who worked as an economist at Federated Investors for 25 years before leaving in 1996, referred questions to his attorney.
Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik issued a gag order in the case earlier this week.
According to the audit, Gailliot deposited $2 million into Noe's coin funds in June 2003. The audit uncovered a scheduled repayment plan to Gailliot totaling $2 million, along with interest and profit from the funds.
The repayments to Gailliot totaled $1.34 million through March 1, 2004. However, the money used for repayments was partially funded with state money from Noe's coin funds, according to the audit.
Gailliot is a lifetime trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial administration and a doctorate in economics. He donated $5 million in 2002 to the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at CMU's Tepper School of Business. The center develops market-based solutions to economic policy problems.
He is also on the board of the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Ohio began the investments with Noe in 1998, when he received $25 million to invest in rare coins, followed by $25 million in 2001.
Investigators began looking into the coin investment in April 2005.
In a separate case, Noe pleaded guilty earlier this year to funneling $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in federal prison. He won't begin that sentence until after the state trial.
The scandal has inflamed Ohio voters in what already has been a rocky election year for Republicans there, said David Paul, a political science professor at Ohio State University.
"It's hard to separate just the Noe scandal. It's a larger situation dragging down the Republicans," Paul said.
U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Friday to two criminal charges relating to bribes he took from Republican influence peddler Jack Abramoff. Ney dropped a re-election bid in August.
Investigations into the Noe coin investment led to Republican Gov. Bob Taft's no-contest plea this year to charges he failed to report gifts such as golf outings.
Coin-gate has become a dominant issue in Ohio over the last 18 months, along with the state's sluggish economy, fueling the Democrats' lead to take the governor's post for the first time in 16 years, Paul said.
"The Noe scandal has affected the state more than federal races. Democrats are leading in nearly all of the statewide races because of the Noe scandal. There's a large unhappiness with the Republican party in Ohio," Paul said.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Prosecutors have tapped a prominent Pittsburgh businessman as a witness in the Ohio trial of a coin dealer accused of stealing millions from the state.
Henry Gailliot, 64, of Squirrel Hill, described by his lawyer as a "longtime collector of coins of the very highest regard," was subpoenaed to testify against a one-time Republican fundraiser, Tom Noe.
Noe, 52, is charged with stealing at least $2 million from $50 million in rare coin investment funds he managed for the state. A jury trial begins Monday in Toledo in "coin-gate," which is expected to last through Nov. 7.
Gailliot's attorney, Patrick McLaughlin, said his client is cooperating with prosecutors.
"He's a victim in this case," McLaughlin said. "I can't talk about his testimony before the trial."
Noe has pleaded not guilty to theft, money laundering, forgery and corruption charges.
An Ohio audit said Noe funneled the investment money into his own businesses, spent some remodeling his Florida Keys home, bought a tent at the 2003 U.S. Senior Open golf tournament and loaned money to friends.
Court documents name Gailliot as an unwitting participant in the scheme.
Gailliot, who worked as an economist at Federated Investors for 25 years before leaving in 1996, referred questions to his attorney.
Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik issued a gag order in the case earlier this week.
According to the audit, Gailliot deposited $2 million into Noe's coin funds in June 2003. The audit uncovered a scheduled repayment plan to Gailliot totaling $2 million, along with interest and profit from the funds.
The repayments to Gailliot totaled $1.34 million through March 1, 2004. However, the money used for repayments was partially funded with state money from Noe's coin funds, according to the audit.
Gailliot is a lifetime trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial administration and a doctorate in economics. He donated $5 million in 2002 to the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at CMU's Tepper School of Business. The center develops market-based solutions to economic policy problems.
He is also on the board of the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Ohio began the investments with Noe in 1998, when he received $25 million to invest in rare coins, followed by $25 million in 2001.
Investigators began looking into the coin investment in April 2005.
In a separate case, Noe pleaded guilty earlier this year to funneling $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in federal prison. He won't begin that sentence until after the state trial.
The scandal has inflamed Ohio voters in what already has been a rocky election year for Republicans there, said David Paul, a political science professor at Ohio State University.
"It's hard to separate just the Noe scandal. It's a larger situation dragging down the Republicans," Paul said.
U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Friday to two criminal charges relating to bribes he took from Republican influence peddler Jack Abramoff. Ney dropped a re-election bid in August.
Investigations into the Noe coin investment led to Republican Gov. Bob Taft's no-contest plea this year to charges he failed to report gifts such as golf outings.
Coin-gate has become a dominant issue in Ohio over the last 18 months, along with the state's sluggish economy, fueling the Democrats' lead to take the governor's post for the first time in 16 years, Paul said.
"The Noe scandal has affected the state more than federal races. Democrats are leading in nearly all of the statewide races because of the Noe scandal. There's a large unhappiness with the Republican party in Ohio," Paul said.
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-Amanda
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The repayments to Gailliot totaled $1.34 million through March 1, 2004. However, the money used for repayments was partially funded with state money from Noe's coin funds, according to the audit.
Question: is Gailliot out $666,000.00? ironic if he is...doo, doo, doo, doo (2 mil minus 1.34 mil)
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