After pleading guilty to avoid trial and get a lesser sentence, Tom Noe is now facing 24 to 30 months in prison and a hefty fine. He has gone from leading the Bush reelection effort in NW Ohio and becoming a Bush “Pioneer” for raising more than $100,000 for the Bush reelection campaign – to a convicted felon.
According to the Toledoblade.com, Mr. Noe voluntarily decided “to accept responsibility to spare my dear family and friends the further embarrassment of any additional court proceeding. Therefore, I plead guilty.â€
Mr. Noe was charged with
- Conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws
- Violating federal campaign laws
- Causing the Bush-Cheney campaign to file a false campaign finance report.
Pleading guilty also leaves the following questions unanswered:
- Why did Noe agree to raise $50,000 for the Bush campaign?
- Did anyone pressure him to raise money?
- Did he hope to curry favor with the Bush White House?
The ToledoBlade concluded with, “At the time of Noe’s indictment, a senior Justice Department official said the Noe case represented the largest campaign money-laundering scheme prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department since new campaign-finance laws were enacted by Congress in 2002.”
Andy Hailey