Ohio watchdog releases investment scandal report

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s watchdog released his much-anticipated investigative report today on the investment scandal that engulfed the state in 2005, concluding the bureau where it started has become significantly more professional and accountable.

Inspector General Randall Meyer made no new findings of wrongdoing in what’s been dubbed Coingate, a scandal that resulted in 19 convictions reaching up to then-Ohio Gov. Bob Taft.

Meyer instead used the 1,210-page report to detail the status of 75 reforms at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation that were recommended through reviews at the time by the governor’s office, state auditor and Legislature.

“Today, OBWC is unquestionably a much more professional and accountable organization than it was in 2005,” the report concluded.

The scandal broke open with a newspaper report of a dubious $50 million investment by the bureau into a rare-coin fund run by generous Republican fundraiser Tom Noe, of Toledo. Two coins worth $300,000 were reported lost, and other investments were missing or unaccounted for.