Reply #3: Taft joked about Noe, rare coins at roast; '04 speech did not mention BWC [View All]

[MelissaB]

Taft joked about Noe, rare coins at roast; '04 speech did not mention BWC fund

By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK
BLADE STAFF WRITER


COLUMBUS - At a 2004 roast of Tom Noe, Gov. Bob Taft talked about rare coins and giving money to the Toledo-area coin dealer, but he did not make a direct reference to the $50 million rare-coin investment that now, a year later, has enveloped his administration in scandal.


Mr. Noe's penchant for fine wine was so well-known it was an opening joke in Mr. Taft's roast of him, a speech delivered with razzes about golf, Mr. Noe's waistline, his status as a college dropout, and his "100-room mansion in the Florida Keys."


The August, 2004, speech includes oblique references to rare coins and money but not a direct reference to the state's failed investments with Mr. Noe, something the governor insists he did not know about until it was reported in The Blade on April 3, 2005.

Legislators have said that if Mr. Taft - who was convicted earlier this month of ethics violations connected to the scandal - is not being truthful, they would call for his impeachment.

More: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050827/NEWS24/508270432/0/NEWS


Tell me this doesn't sound familiar.