Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The smell of mendacity in the Ohio air.
More Coin-gate from the Toledo Blade
State fraud investigators, ordered by Gov. Bob Taft to “execute a complete inventory” of all rare coins owned by the state, were barred yesterday by Maumee coin dealer Tom Noe from beginning the inspections.Way to go Ohio! Tip the mark before the raid.
Eight to 10 fraud investigators from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, representatives of the state auditor’s office, and employees of Sotheby’s auction house had planned to start checking the coin inventory yesterday at five locations where Mr. Noe’s Capital Coin Fund Limited maintains inventories: Monclova Township, Broomall, Pa., Wilmington, Del., Sarasota, Fla., and Evergreen, Colo.
But Mr. Noe’s attorney Bill Wilkinson, informed by state officials yesterday of the planned inspections, advised him not to agree to the inspections until he could have attorneys present at all the locations where the state’s coins are held.
The Blade first reported April 3 that the bureau had invested $50 million with Mr. Noe to purchase rare coins.
Since then, reporters have found that as many as 121 state-owned coins valued at about $400,000 are missing or stolen.
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