Tom Noe was accused in a federal indictment of giving money directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who then made the campaign contributions in their own names. In that way, he skirted the $2,000 limit on individual contributions, prosecutors said.
"It's one of the most blatant and excessive finance schemes we have encountered," said Noel Hillman, chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's public integrity section.
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Noe wrote several checks just under the maximum allowable amount of $2,000 to avoid suspicion, the indictment said. All of the checks were written in the eight days leading up to the fund-raiser — the largest a $14,300 payment.
Federal investigators also allege Noe made his friends and associates fill out contribution cards and forms falsely certifying they were making the contributions themselves.
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U.S. Attorney Gregory White said prosecutors were negotiating Noe's surrender with his lawyer, and they have not discussed a possible plea agreement. A message seeking comment was left for Noe's attorney.
If convicted, Noe faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $950,000.
In general, I think few campaign finance violations make it beyond civil penalities assessed by the FEC. But if this laundering scheme sticks, it will make Tom DeLay's efforts look positively amatuerish.
I also wonder what happens to the friends who complied with Noe's scheme. These people are not without some guilt in the scheme--they after all signed a paper saying they did something they cleard did not.
Of course, Noe is the big fish here.
Additional coverage: Cleveland Plain Dealer Reaction story, courtesy of WTOL news.
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