Republican Scandals Proliferate

....and begin turning into octopi:

Noe involved in 'absolute theft of funds,' Ohio's attorney general says

By STEVE EDER and JAMES DREW
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS — Tom Noe converted millions of dollars in Ohio money for personal use, while using a “Ponzi” scheme to hide what was taking place within his $50 million state-funded rare-coin venture, the state’s top attorney charged today.

Attorney General Jim Petro said there is evidence that Mr. Noe may have pocketed nearly $4 million in money invested with him through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, including a $1.375 million wire transfer to Tom Noe, Inc., a company Mr. Noe owned and controlled, on the same day he received the first of two $25 million payments from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in 1998.

Mr. Petro asked a judge today to further restrict the sale of Mr. Noe’s assets, and amend the state’s lawsuit against the Toledo-area coin dealer to include charges of breach of contract, negligence, and unjust enrichment.

“Over the next several days leading into this week, we came to believe that there was an absolute theft of funds going on,” Mr. Petro said at a news conference today...