OH Dem says BWC scandal ilegalities put PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN QUESTION

[mod mom]

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Kaptur alerts colleagues of unfolding scandal
Brown says illegalities put presidential election in question


The $215 million loss - coupled with a failed $50 million rare-coin investment with Tom Noe, a prominent Republican campaign contributor - have given Democrats political ammunition against the GOP, which has dominated state government for years.

Democrats such as Miss Kaptur and U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Lorain say the latest scandals mirror problems in Washington and even call into question the results of the 2004 presidential election.

"Shame on the governor of Ohio," said Miss Kaptur, who put The Blade's Tuesday online story breaking the news of the $215 million loss into the Congressional record. "Shame on the state officials of the State of Ohio. What a tragedy they have perpetrated on the people of our state."

www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050609/NEWS09/506090443
OHIO INVESTMENT SCANDAL
Taft's office told in October about $225 million loss; e-mail from Conrad said firm overleveraged account


Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, located in Columbus.
( THE BLADE/ALLAN DETRICH )
Zoom
By JAMES DREW
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF


COLUMBUS — Gov. Bob Taft’s office learned seven months ago — not this week — that the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had lost $225 million in a high-risk investment.
In an Oct. 26, 2004, e-mail to Taft aide James Samuel, the bureau’s administrator-CEO, James Conrad, wrote that the “entire value” of the portfolio managed by MDL Capital Management was down about $225 million.
Mr. Conrad also alerted the governor’s office that the bureau had rejected MDL’s request for another $25 million and the firm was in danger of collapsing, which he said would be “likely to make national news.”

www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050609/NEWS24/50609003

TAFT and PETRO (OH Attorney General) knew of this huge loss in October '04 put failed to notify public. Hmmmh....Do you think it might have been politically motivated? Kudos to the Toledo Blade, THE premier investigative paper in the country! Is a Pullitizer in their future?

[mbperrin]

1. Can we get a REAL newspaper in Texas, too,

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?

[mod mom]

19. At least Texas has Jim Hightower! Love his "Lowdown"! nt

[dave29]

51. self delete

oops

[darkism]

41. www.iconoclast-texas.com

[Chicago Democrat]

79. kik

[0007]

75. Heads up Mike

There is a Democratic training program being held in Austin on the week-end of June 17-19. This training program is being sponsored by Democracy for Texas. It is called DemFest. It is my understanding that they expect Howard Dean to be a speaker, and will also have Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower speaking at the Saturday night dinner. For those of you who are musically inclined Joe Ely and the Joe Ely Band will be there.

The reservation fee this training program is $55.00.

If anyone is interested in attending we encourage you to register immediately. The registration can be done over the internet at

Please note that deadline for registration is this upcoming Friday, or when all slots are filled up.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

[Kolesar]

2. So, they financed the Bush 2004 campaign using Oh BWC money

Public money.

[Supersedeas]

26. Finally, a politician with the courage to come out and say IT

[acmejack]

3. Thank you letters sent!

I try to always commend our people, be they elected officials our average writers to the editor in my local papers, whenever they write a strong letter or speak out in our interests. I think positive feedback is always welcomed by them and it demonstrates our solidarity.

[displacedtexan]

4. Here's the best part...

Mr. Taft would not talk to The Blade yesterday and did not have any public appearances where reporters could ask him questions.
Mark Rickel, the governor’s press secretary, said Mr. Taft did not see Mr. Conrad’s e-mail, was not told about it by Mr. Samuel, and Mr. Conrad did not talk to the governor about it.

Sound familiar?

[ohtransplant]

18. Start the recall!

"Mark Rickel, the governor’s press secretary, said Mr. Taft did not see Mr. Conrad’s e-mail, was not told about it by Mr. Samuel, and Mr. Conrad did not talk to the governor about it."

A loss of $225 Million doesn't warrant a mention? If that's true, which I doubt, it's high level negligence. If it's not true, there's a cover up and an (successful) attempt to influence an election.

[UpInArms]

5. politically motivated? Hell Yes!

These cretins will stop at nothing to lie, cheat and steal their way into power :argh:

[Dhalgren]

6. Congress MUST investigate this!

The American people must know who knew and when they knew. How far up the chain was it known that BWC money - public money - was being used to finance Bush's election? This is a huge, huge break - even the American people can see what this is. How can the Dictator's Media spin this? I don't see how they can...

[mod mom]

8. Without subpoena power, little hope. Sent article to Conyers office. nt

[nolabels]

25. Put em in a spin "CONGRESS MUST NOT INVESTIGATE THIS"

People always hate it when you tell them what they can't do :evilgrin:

[indepat]

7. You must give Repukes credit for the way they operate. If this investment

were not illegal, it should have been.

[mod mom]

9. By the way, Sherrod Brown is a former (D) OH Secretary of State, back when

the position had integrity in Ohio.

[OzarkDem]

21. Sherrod's doing a great job

calling them out and bringing the 2004 into the story. I have a feeling he knows where the money trail goes.

[MeDeMax]

49. you may be on to something ...

rep Brown has good instincts and a keen nose for where the scent leads.

[Bullshot]

48. Sherrod Brown has an axe to grind with Bob Taft.

Brown was a long-time Ohio Secretary of State until Taft ran against him and ran your typical lie-like-a-thief smear campaign against Brown and unseated him.

That may have been the best thing that happened to Brown.

He's now a member of Congress and frequently gets attention on issues such as NAFTA, and now, the Taft "I-know-nothing" scandals.

[OzarkDem]

10. Kaptur Alerts Colleagues of Unfolding Scandal (Coingate)

Ohio Congressional Dems open up on Taft and Coingate, making connections to Bush, DeLay and the 2004 election in Ohio. That's my congressman - Go Sherrod!

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050609/NEWS09/506090443

The $215 million loss - coupled with a failed $50 million rare-coin investment with Tom Noe, a prominent Republican campaign contributor - have given Democrats political ammunition against the GOP, which has dominated state government for years.

Democrats such as Miss Kaptur and U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Lorain say the latest scandals mirror problems in Washington and even call into question the results of the 2004 presidential election.

...

Mr. Brown said state government leaders have been "inept" and "incompetent" for a decade and the "depth of corruption in Ohio might set national records."

Mr. Brown called out Governor Taft, as well as GOP gubernatorial candidates Attorney General Jim Petro, State Auditor Betty Montgomery, and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.

"The governor's cronies have been losing money, and the attorney general, the auditor, and the secretary of state seem to hear no evil and see no evil," he said.

In this case, it appears "the people who are supposed to be the watchdog of state's government have all contributed to the corruption."

Mr. Brown, a former Ohio secretary of state, said the situation in Ohio mirrors problems in Washington.

"I've watched up close the arrogance of Tom DeLay," he said, "and I see the way Taft, and Blackwell, and Petro … and those folks run the state government."

...

"I think the George Bush campaign raised a lot of illegal money in Ohio," Mr. Brown said. "That puts the election in some question. I know these people stop at nothing and I know their incompetence kept a significant number of people from getting to vote."

[Gunit_Sangh]

11. Toledo Blade uncovers email re loss

Check out this diary over at Daily Kos


The Toledo Blade seems to be gunning for another Pulitzer. Tonight's chunk out of Ohio Governor Taft's hide: the Blade produced an e-mail that seems to contradict Taft's assertion that he didn't know about the $200+ MILLION Worker's Comp Fund loss until last week. The e-mail to the governor's office is dated October 26, 2004. Taft says he wasn't told by his staff. The staff member, James Samuel, the governor's executive assistant for business and industry didn't remember the e-mail until confronted with it. Oopsie.

As close as the national election was, that cover up probably made the difference. Let's say that the Ohio GOP comes clean about a $200+ MILLION loss on October 26, 2004. You think Bush and the GOP still carry Ohio a week later? But, I'm probably just skeptical. Surely that didn't play into anyone's considerations.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/8/225542/8450

[impeachthescoundrel]

12. At last

A thread of hope. Thanks for posting.

[converted_democrat]

13. Oh, sweet Jesus, say it's sooo. Please if there is a higher power any

higher power let this take off, please. Amen.

[Extend a Hand]

14. I wonder if they didn't know about it even earlier...

In 2003, they eliminated the 75% 'discount' rate for workers comp. that businesses had been getting for years and started requiring the entire amount.

[mod mom]

55. I remember. I used to own a small business before bu$h stole the election

and I closed to become a full time activist. I paid my final BWC quarterly installment for 1st quarter 2005 and employers no longer get any discount. I wonder if Chamber of Commerces and other pro rethug organizations will speak out against these scandals. They are the ones that will have to pay for it.

[meganmonkey]

15. OMG I got so excited by that headline I think

I peed my pants a little :P

Seriously, this scandal HAS TO BREAK. It absolutely has to for the sake of our DEMOCRACY.

:bounce:

[Moderator]

16. mod mom, please edit your subject line

to "Kaptur alerts colleagues of unfolding scandal"

Thank you

[mod mom]

17. But Mod, It is in the title from the Toledo Blade:

Article published Thursday, June 9, 2005

Kaptur alerts colleagues of unfolding scandal
Brown says illegalities put presidential election in question


Kaptur

Zoom
By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER

[fasttense]

20. How can any self respecting Christian support a party

that continually has scandal after scandal. Stealing tax dollars to line their own pockets, lying, cheating, sleeping with children and animals, taking money and support from porn stars and prostitutes. I don't ever remember it being this bad until brush came into the political scene. Maybe they were just better at hiding it. But these scandals are coming out when they own the media, the judiciary, the House, the Senate, the Presidency. Seems to me absolute power does corrupt absolutely.

[sickinohio]

44. The self-respecting Christians that support the rePuke crooks

are OK with supporting the crooks - all they have to do is go and pray every night for God to forgive them - and WALLAH - they're forgiven and can continue on to their next-day's support of the crooks again - then, pray again, and so-on, and so-on, and so-on!!!

:sarcasm:

[BornLeft]

22. Awesome. Shades of Watergate, Follow the money. n/t

[donkeyotay]

23. Has our new and improved national television media got this yet?

This is a huuuge scandal that has national importance if for no other reason than that public funds are being invested in hedge funds. Thanks to the Contract on America, our politicians forgot that REGULATIONS were a good thing, the kind of thing that prevented some secretive, off shore fund from either stealing or losing your entire principal in what should be a widows-and-orphans type of investment.

The capitalist brain trust that destroyed financial good sense in this country is composed of the same ones who morphed into the WOT caped crusaders. They're still idiots; they just changed their area of expertise.

[wallwriter]

24. Sherrod Brown is a great Congressman

I've observed him to be a pretty measured but conscientious guy in the past. Now it sounds like he's really got his claws into something. I hope he can really run with this and knock off a few big scumbags, maybe even the biggest one, in the process.

[0rganism]

27. Will this disgusting farce be enough to rewire the Ohio voters?

I doubt it. The repukes will make some excuses, come up with a far-fetched scenario for plausible deniability, and the fundy megachurches will require their congregations to pray for the well being of the Ohio republicans and Tom Delay.

[dissent1977]

28. Major Political Scandal Unfolding in Ohio (Illegal Bush Contributions)

WASHINGTON - As the word spread Tuesday night that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation had lost $215 million in a high-risk investment, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur alerted her colleagues to the mounting concerns in her home state.

Miss Kaptur, during a statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night, said "there is a major political scandal that is unfolding in the state of Ohio."

<snip>

Mr. Noe, whose attorneys told authorities two weeks ago that $10 million to $12 million of the state's assets were missing from the coin fund, is facing multiple investigations, including a federal probe into whether he laundered money into President Bush's re-election campaign. The Republican contributor was considered a Bush "pioneer" because he raised at least $100,000 for Mr. Bush's campaign.

"I think the George Bush campaign raised a lot of illegal money in Ohio," Mr. Brown said. "That puts the election in some question. I know these people stop at nothing and I know their incompetence kept a significant number of people from getting to vote."

On edit: Here is the link http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0609-08.htm

[ewagner]

29. This could be interesting

and good for our party in Ohio....keep informed.

[saltpoint]

30. Good. May it shatter Mr. Blackwell's dreams of power in the governor's

mansion.

And let's have a recount of those votes in Butler County while we're at it.

[sickinohio]

46. And in Lucas County in Toledo - after

all, that's where NOE lives - and that's where the Dem Headquarters was broken into a few weeks before the election - had computers stolen - THAT should be investigate more too!!

[saltpoint]

63. I'll second that, sickinohio.

Do what you can to put as many Democrats in there as possible.

[LiberalFighter]

65. Blackwell and his gang need to go to jail

[saltpoint]

78. I'm for it.

:thumbsup:

:hi: :dem:

[yardwork]

31. The Ohio vote was fraud, pure and simple

I'd be willing to bet just about anything that Kerry won in Ohio. The vote was stolen to hand shrubbie the election.

I grew up in Ohio and still have family there. They experienced the vote fraud machine personally on Election Day 2004.

Folks in Ohio don't like cheaters. I hope this story has legs.

[Robeson]

35. Yep....

...Bush has yet be legitimately elected President.

[Carla in Ca]

42. Yardwork, explain please...I know

Ohio was THE disappointment. Diebold had promised *ush would win it.
But what do we look for in this scandal? Does the missing money being linked to *ush's campaign do it? What is the connection between this and voters not getting to the polls?
I have watched this scandal grow bigger each day but what is THE link that voter fraud can be proved?

Thanks!

[yardwork]

43. Rep. Conyers has all the important information

I recommend that you read his report (it's available online) and sign on to support his efforts. Conyers and his staff documented numerous voting irregularities, all of which benefited bushco.

Can it be proven? Maybe not. But the important thing is to prevent it from happening again. If we allow this to continue there will never be another election in the U.S. - just fake elections that are really dictatorships.

[Carla in Ca]

45. Will do, and thanks

I just want to be sure all those that can do something about this are on the same page.

[mod mom]

56. 2 of 88 counties had Diebold for Nov '04 Lucas County (home of Noe)

was one of them and guess who helped bring them into Luca County?

If you guessed TOM NOE bing! bing! bing! you win the grand prize!

It was during his tenure on the BOE that Diebold machines were brought into Lucas County.

"TOLEDO, Ohio, May 10, 2002 ¯ Just about every county in the nation is rushing to update their voting technology, but no county to date has done it faster than Lucas County."
<snip>
"Lucas County Board of Elections Acting Chairman Tom Noe, who was present to observe the May 7th election, was pleased with the outcome. "I don't think there is another county in the nation that has implemented touch screen voting as quickly as Lucas County did for this trial run in a primary election," Noe said. "The people of Lucas County and of Ohio in general can be proud of this achievement.""
http://www.sequoiavote.com/mediadetail.php?id=57

http://www.diebold.com/news/newsdisp.asp?id=2997

[Carla in Ca]

57. Very, very interesting, mod mom

That is the kind of info I was asking about. It is time to really start digging into this and hope it leads to you know who,thanks.

[mod mom]

58. If that "You know who" is Darth Rove then the BWC

Coingate scandal already does:

Mr. Noe is a former chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party who has given more than $11,000 in campaign contributions to both Governor Taft and Mr. Voinovich, now a Republican U.S. senator, over the last decade. He has given tens of thousands more to Republican candidates around the state.
He worked hard to get President Bush re-elected last year; as chairman of the Bush team's efforts in northwest Ohio, he frequently talked with Karl Rove, one of the President's top advisers.

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/04/315177.shtml

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

32. Has there been...

Any repuke response?

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. Those who refuse to learn fom history

Watergate started not with a memo, but a break in... into the enemy's camp...

[dweller]

37. please gods, tie this to Cheney

so that he has to resign...

then let history repeat itself, Watergate style


dp

[BlueIris]

71. Heh. Even I didn't think of that.

Damn. This is so...how much more do the people need, you know? I've followed the election scandal since Nov. 7, 2004 and even I didn't know about this disturbing wrinkle. And disturbing it is. Good Lord.

[sickinohio]

47. Yeah - and here in Ohio -

how about the break-in at the Dem Headquarters in Toledo a few weeks before the election????? Needs to be investigated further!! I just don't believe that was a random break in!! Never have, never will!!!

[99Pancakes]

34. This, like DSM,

should be an explosive story in the MSM.....but alas, I wonder if those "news" lapdogs will even glance at it. How did a once wondrous liberal media become the a--kissers of the Bubba Shrub camp?

[alcibiades_mystery]

36. Was part of the $215 million funnelled to Bush-Cheney coffers?

Is this a money-laundering operation from start to finish?

One wonders...

[OzarkDem]

61. Coin investment of BWC

is very likely to have gone into Bush campaign donations. Money from the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Comp was "invested" in a scheme Tom Noe was running to invest it in "rare coins". Alas, a huge chunk of the money is missing now. As it happens, campaign contributions were made to Bush and other R's by the same investor, Tom Noe.

[Kelvin Mace]

38. Means nothing unto the rest of the media covers it

and they have been avoiding it like the plague.

[Straight Shooter]

40. Interesting thing about the plague, Kelvin

You can avoid it, but in the end, very often it gets you anyway.

And this particular "plague" stinks to high heaven. I think a lot of people are still very interested in Ohio, considering all the focus on that state in the election. Any other state where this happened wouldn't get much attention (except Florida). But Ohio? I think they need to check their political rats for fleas.

[Kelvin Mace]

53. I have no doubt that this is the festering sewer it appears

and that IF, mind you, IF the media actually covered it like they should, it would lead to the complete destruction of the GOP.

But, I won't hold my breath.

[musette_sf]

39. Rut-roh!

Pastor Rod Parsley had better break himself away from his sweetheart clinch with Gubner Goodhair, and git on home to Ohio!

I can just see a scene between Kenny Blackwell and Pastor Rod, like the one where Nixon wanted War Criminal Kissinger to kneel and pray with him. (I seem to remember a long-ago SNL skit of this with Belushi playing Kissinger... anyone else?)

[DebbieCDC]

76. Nixon Skit

Yes, I remember it well, Ackroyd as Nixon and Belushi as Kissinger. As an Ohio native I'm hoping for a Watergate repeat to once & for all bring down the house of Taft, every bit as crooked as the house of bush

[mod mom]

77. Wouldn't it be great if us Ohioans who were shamed by the results of the

election(faux results-of course!) could bring down the bfee in an avalanche of shame? We need to keep digging and keep this story alive!

[MeDeMax]

50. very impost (important post) ...n/t

:kick:

[Norbert]

52. Remember Blackwell was Co-chair of the shrub/dick2004 Ohio campaign

If there is a money trail I'm betting it goes through his door.

Blackwell figures to be the GOP hier apparent to the Governor's chair in Ohio.

[sendero]

54. When the dike starts leaking..

... it's never just one crack, there are cracks all over the place.

The Republican party is cracking up. Where's the popcorn? :toast:

[rodeodance]

59. it will be a long time before they come clean-if they ever do.

.......At a news conference yesterday in Cincinnati, Democratic legislators said a committee to examine the bureau’s investments must have subpoena power.

This is probably the tip of an iceberg of this type of conduct, not just in the BWC, but wherever these funds exist,” said Rep. Tyrone Yates (D., Cincinnati).

The $215 million investment loss accrued between February and September, 2004, two months before the presidential election, in which Democrat John Kerry conceded after determining that Ohio’s electoral college votes would go to President Bush.

“We find it very disturbing that this was not made known to the public at the time,’’ said Rep. Steve Driehaus (D., Cincinnati). “We want to know under whose order this was not made public.”

[jimshoes]

62. Who has the power to keep the lid

on something like this? There can't be that many possible suspects can there? The Governor, the Secretary of State, and if Taft knew about it pre election, the orders almost certainly had to come from him. Is this something a Grand Jury needs to look into, or a special prosecutor? These questions need to be answered to uncover the corruption and or malfeasance that is running rampant in Ohio. Kudos to the Toledo Blade for breaking this story. KUTGW

[bunny planet]

60. I think the Democrats need to delegate here. So many scandals, so little

time. We've been spending a lot of time on the DSM and rightfully so. It would be great if Coingate could start to boil in the MSM as well. I'm going to pass this thread on to Randi Rhodes.

[Al-CIAda]

64. " It would be great if Coingate could start to boil in the MSM" Yes, this

needs to happen.

[Rex]

66. That's a nice chunk of change, wonder how much went to GOP-PACs?

So the state that "won" it for Boosh might just end up being the most corrupt state in America? Wow. I live in Texas and that is saying sumthin! I hope they haul all the BFEE assholes to jail one day! I'll stand at the prison gates and spit at them!

[mod mom]

67. Thugs attempt to stack BWC Investigative committee 4 to 2. UFB!

This from Friday's Toledo Blade:

It's all about enriching one's political friends and impoverishing one's enemies.

That's why an attempt by legislative Republican leaders to stack their own newly created BWC investment review committee with four Republicans and just two Democrats is such a stupid idea. Unless the Democrats have equal representation, they will not participate, and the committee will have no credibility at all.

www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050610/OPINION02/506100332

[Roy]

68. Oh shit!!! Another Howard Dean type democrat....

Trashing republicans in public about their corruption and lack of morals.

PING to my Dean bashers list
EAGLES UP!!!!!

(snip)
Democrats say there is still more ground to be covered in investigating problems in Ohio, including a look at the 2004 presidential campaign.
(snip)

(snip)
"I think the George Bush campaign raised a lot of illegal money in Ohio," Mr. Brown said. "That puts the election in some question. I know these people stop at nothing and I know their incompetence kept a significant number of people from getting to vote."
(snip)

[lonestarnot]

69. Bash those bitches....just what they need!

[Chicago1]

70. This is WONDERFUL news

Things are moving along and the volume is getting LOUDER on Votergate!!!! Excellent Developments!!


Waiting for the IMPEACHMENT WHILE THE SCANDALS KEEP UNFOLDING
America's Work Stories
http://usaworkstories.blogspot.com
[email protected]

[earth mom]

72. KICK!

:kick:

[democrat_patriot]

73. So investing money is bad? But * says we should have

private accounts.

"James Conrad, wrote that the “entire value” of the portfolio managed by MDL Capital Management was down about $225 million."

[mod mom]

74. GREAT POINT! The dems should use this example why private accounts are a

BAD IDEA for social security!

[malaise]

81. Scandal by scandal

the chickens are coming home to roost.

[Kukesa]

80. Buckeye Kick! n/t

[mod mom]

82. URGENT: This article has been REMOVED from The Blade!

Please check out this DU link:

(remember Tom Noe was on the BOARD OF THE OHIO TURNPIKE!!!!!)

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x377130

PLEASE pass this story around! There is safety in desseminating info.

[Rainscents]

83. This is like watching some horror movie that has never ending story...

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[chalky]

84. I feel a need to kick this...

I don't know why....:evilgrin: