Politicians brace for change in plea by disgraced dealer

The investment scandal has been a major embarrassment for Republicans.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Gov. Bob Taft says he is "totally comfortable" that a disgraced rare-coin dealer accused of illegally funneling donations to President Bush's campaign has nothing more to say that could incriminate his administration.
State Sen. Marc Dann, a top Democratic critic of Taft, coin dealer Tom Noe and the wide-ranging scandal that has enveloped them, says information Noe might provide in a plea deal could potentially solve some of the major mysteries that have tied up state government for the past year.
As Noe, once a formidable force in Republican fund-raising circles, prepares to adjust his innocent plea to federal charges May 31, players throughout the Ohio political world are bracing to see what more, if anything, he has to say.
Noe also is under investigation for an ill-fated $50 million investment in rare coins that he managed for the state workers' compensation fund. He has been charged with stealing at least $1 million of the coin investment and has pleaded innocent.
Embarrassment
The investment scandal investigation has been a major embarrassment for Republicans, who dominate state politics. It prompted Taft, a lame duck, and two former aides to plead no contest to ethics charges.
Dann, of Youngstown, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, said Noe's legal team approached his lawyer in the records case against Taft in late winter seeking help in getting the ear of federal prosecutors.
"They said we have information we'd like to share, and we'd like you to pass it on to the prosecutors," Dann recalled. "I declined. I didn't want to interfere with the prosecution in any way."
Among those Dann wants more answers about is Taft, who prevailed at the Ohio Supreme Court in the case Dann brought seeking written communications the Republican governor had with key aides about Noe's investment contracts at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
But Taft says there is nothing more to be unearthed. Most of the records Dann sought have been released.
"There's nothing there. Everything that affects our office is already been out in the public domain for months," he said after a public tourism event Friday morning. "I'm totally comfortable that there will be no such information."
Plea decision
Doug Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University, said Noe's decision to change his plea, whether it is to no contest or guilty, is an acknowledgment to the alleged facts of the case.
"He's basically saying, 'You got me' -- but I think a lot of people say 'You got me' even if they're not prepared to admit every single thing the government claims," Berman said. "There are probably intricate sets of reasoning for doing what he's doing."
By pleading guilty, Noe would get credit under federal sentencing guidelines that could cut his potential sentence in half. His sentence also could be reduced if he gave prosecutors information that helped bring charges against others.
Dann said Noe blind-sided many who knew him when news of the tainted investments and donations to Bush came out, and that Dann didn't want to be similarly manipulated.
"Clearly, this guy's going to try to wheel and deal his way out of this, and the last thing I want to do is play a part in helping him do that," Dann said. "I want to see real reform come from this. People could not imagine how pervasive the pay to play system is in state government."
Federal prosecutors said in October the case was the largest of its kind prosecuted under the 2002 campaign finance reform law.
They alleged that Noe gave $45,400 directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who then made the campaign contributions in their own names so Noe could skirt a $2,000 limit on individual contributions.
Democrats have sought to link Noe's political generosity to his landing of the state investment deals, but the link has never been proven.