Living the high life is only a memory for Noe now

Tom Noe's theft of millions of dollars from the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation was, quite literally, indefensible. Two weeks ago, after prosecutors called the last of dozens of witnesses against Noe, the defense rested its case without calling a single witness.
Of course, the defense was not bound to call rebuttal witnesses; it was the duty of the prosecution to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
And the prosecutors did so. A jury in Toledo found Noe guilty on 27 of 40 counts, and Monday Noe learned his fate.
Drastic turnaround
Noe, who lived the life of a millionaire by ripping off the residents of Ohio will spend the next 18 years living a much less regal life at taxpayer's expense.
By the time he's done serving his sentence, Noe, who is now 52, will be eligible for Social Security.
And he will need it, because Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik not only sentenced Noe to 18 years in prison, he fined him 139,000 and ordered him to pay restitution. In addition to that, Attorney General Jim Petro is already pursuing a civil suit against Noe to recover whatever the state can.
We shouldn't gloat, but it is hard not to do so, given Noe's brazen abuse of the system and his refusal to show any remorse. He said nothing at his sentencing.
The loss to the state could be as high as 13 million from the 50 million that Noe was given from Workers' Compensation coffers to play with.
Paying for his indulgences
Noe treated the money as his own , indulging his fancies and using it to buy political favors all the way up to the president. Two months ago, U.S. District Judge David Katz sentenced Noe to 27 months in federal prison for violating federal campaign finance law. Noe illegally poured more than 45,000 into the re-election campaign of President Bush in 2003.
While Noe was spreading money around Washington, back in Ohio he was taking money that ostensibly was to be invested in rare coins -- amazingly, no one in Columbus stopped to ask why Ohio was the only state in the nation that had entered the coin and collectible market as an investment strategy -- and using it as he pleased.
Noe's lawyers asked that their client be given the minimum sentence of 10 years on his various convictions for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, money laundering, tampering with records and forgery.
That would have been a travesty of justice. Noe's crime was one of arrogance and premeditation for which he showed not the slightest bit of remorse.
For years, white-collar criminals have been doing short time for stealing fortunes while petty thieves have been getting hard time. Noe's sentence is one of a growing number of recent cases that send a message to wheelers and dealers that if they do the crime, they'd better be ready to do the time.
Which is exactly as it should be.