State rejects parole for ‘Coingate’ figure
Board: Noe doesn’t admit to ‘theft’ of workers’ comp cash.
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Parole Board has recommended for a third time that Tom Noe should remain behind bars for stealing more some $13 million more than a decade ago from the state’s insurance fund for injured workers.
Noe has served about 10 years of his 18-year state sentence related to his convictions for skimming money from a total of $50 million in investments he managed in rare coins for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. He was also separately convicted of federal charges related to laundering campaign contributions to the 2004 re-election campaign of then-President George W. Bush.
He served two years in federal prison before starting his state sentence.
The key figure in the Coingate scandal, however, did make progress compared to his two prior attempts when the board voted unanimously against recommending that Gov. John Kasich show him mercy. This time he picked up two votes in a 5-2 decision.
In the 13-page report, the board’s majority found that it would be “inappropriate” to commute Noe’s sentence, finding, among other things, that he “lacks sincere remorse for his actions and lacks genuine acceptance of responsibility.”
“When answering basic questions about his crime, the applicant minimized his behavior,” the clemency report reads. “The applicant maintained that what he did in terms of spending OBWC funds, toward personal items, was nothing more than him making purchases on the monies that were to be his portion of the profits, even though no ‘profit’ had been realized and no investments pursued when said purchases were made.”
The reported noted that Noe said he took “full responsibility” for what he did during his interview with the board.
But the report then noted, “Not once did the applicant refer to his actions as ‘stealing or theft,’” the report reads. “Throughout the interview, the applicant continued to avoid answering direct questions relative to his offenses by minimizing his actions, justifying his behaviors, and only admitting to poor record keeping as the ultimate crime committed.”
It also noted that he lacks a plan to repay the state the $13.7 million he owes in restitution.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Blade, was sent to Kasich on Wednesday, according to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Its findings are not binding upon the governor.
“What I would tell the governor is he represents the people of the state of Ohio,” said Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, whose office tried Noe for the crimes in 2006.
“I think the question for Mr. Noe is where is the money and does he plan to pay the people who he owes $13.7 million plus court costs,” she said. “That doesn’t mean moving to Florida and living with your ex-wife.”
While the board twice previously voted unanimously to recommend no clemency without holding a hearing or interviewing Noe, Kasich on second pass earlier this year sent the case back for a hearing. The board last month interviewed Noe directly via video from the Marion Correctional Institution where he is serving his sentence and away from the eyes of reporters.
The two members of the minority said they found that the former Toledo area coin dealer’s sentence is disparate from those given to others convicted of similar crimes and agreed with advocates for Noe that his trial was unfair. They also cited an interest in the state of Ohio collecting restitution.
Bernadette Restivo, Noe’s ex-wife and an attorney in Florida, pointed to the question that the board’s acting chairman had asked of the assistant county prosecutor at the hearing. The chairman has essentially asked whether it would be better for Noe to remain in prison or to be released so he could make some attempt at restitution.
“It all boils down to whether we want him to sit there eight more years and come out at a point where he is so old — I hate to say it — that his ability to generate income is severely diminished,” she said. “Or let’s get him back to work ... He’s got nothing left, as evidenced by my bankruptcy.”
The board’s acting chairman who asked the restitution question, Trayce Thalheimer, was among the five who voted against clemency.
Restivo told the board that she was prepared to remarry Noe so that he could move to her home in Florida as part of a reciprocal program with Ohio and work to begin making restitution to the state.
In all, Noe was convicted of 29 charges, 25 of them felonies. A racketeering conviction alone carried a minimum sentence of 10 years.
Noe is asking the governor to commute his sentence to the roughly 10 years he has already served on his state sentence. If clemency is denied, he would have to wait two more years before petitioning Kasich’s successor. Currently, he is scheduled to be released Oct. 22, 2026.
“We appreciate the parole board examining this case, and the governor will be reviewing their report,” Kasich spokesman Jon Keeling said.
There is no time limit on the governor’s decision, although the governor’s term will end in early January.