Judge sentences Noe to 18 years

Prosecutors said Noe stole 13.7 million from the state in the scheme.
TOLEDO (AP) -- Given one last chance to talk, Tom Noe stayed silent.
The former GOP fundraiser, who befriended President Bush and once celebrated his birthday with Gov. Bob Taft, stood in a courtroom Monday, wearing a blue jail jumpsuit and a stubbly goatee.
Lucas County Judge Thomas Osowik asked Noe if he wanted to say anything.
But there was no apology or admission just before he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for embezzling millions from the state's fund for injured workers, triggering a scandal that toppled Ohio's ruling Republican Party. Noe's defense also chose not to present any witnesses at trial.
Judge Osowik noted Noe's silence, saying the politically connected coin dealer never "expressed genuine remorse."
The sentence marked the end of a remarkable fall for Noe, 52.
He was a rising star in the GOP -- a go-to guy who knew everybody and helped raise campaign cash for Republicans across the state.
Struck deal in 1998
His rise to prominence coincided with a deal he struck with the state in 1998 to manage a 25 million investment in rare coins.
But instead of investing the money, prosecutors say, Noe spent it on his business and a lavish lifestyle.
Prosecutors revealed for the first time Monday they calculated that Noe stole 13.7 million from the fund he managed for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
He spent 3 million in the first three months after getting the state's money, Lucas County Assistant Prosecutor John Weglian said.
Prosecutors have not said whether he used the money to make campaign contributions to Republicans, including Bush and Gov. Bob Taft. But after the sentencing, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who helped in the investigation, said it would be easy to draw the conclusion. "You can make those inferences," he said.
Noe acted as though he had "a bottomless cup of wealth and luxury at [his] disposal, when in fact it was at the state's expense," Judge Osowik said.
The judge described the crime as an "elaborate scheme of theft on a large scale." He expressed disbelief that Noe continued to steal even after a bureau auditor raised questions about the investment.
"You continued to spend the bureau's money at what I thought was a shockingly, alarmingly large rate," Judge Osowik said.