TOLEDO, Ohio-
Just four weeks before Election Day, jury selection began Tuesday in the case against a Republican fundraiser accused of embezzling at least $2 million from a rare-coin investment that he managed for the state.
The scandal has rocked the Ohio GOP and raised Democrats’ hopes of retaking the governorship for the first time in 12 years.
Tom Noe, a 52-year-old coin dealer, is charged with theft, money laundering, forgery and a corrupt activity charge. He could get up to 10 years in prison on the corrupt activity charge, which includes the allegation that he stole from the $50 million rare coin fund.
A state audit said Noe funneled the money into his own businesses, spent some remodeling his Florida Keys home and lent money to friends.
Democrats have seized on the scandal to argue that the Republicans’ long hold on power has given rise to a culture of corruption. They have charged that Noe’s political connections helped him land the job of managing the state’s highly unorthodox attempt to make money by buying and selling rare coins.
The GOP controls the governor’s office and most statewide elected positions. But the Democratic candidate for governor, Rep. Ted Strickland, holds a double-digit lead over Republican Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell in the polls.
About 60 prospective jurors filled out three-page questionnaires that asked them whether they had any thoughts about the case against Noe and whether they collect rare coins. Five of the first 10 dismissed after they said they believed the defendant was guilty, based on what they had read in the newspaper.
The trial is expected to last through Election Day.
Investigations into the coin investment led to ethics charges against Republican Gov. Bob Taft, who pleaded no contest to failing to report golf outings and other gifts. Four former Taft aides pleaded no contest to similar charges.
Separately, Noe pleaded guilty to funneling $45,000 to President Bush’s re-election campaign and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in federal prison.
