Two More Netted in Noe Corruption Web

Just days after scandal-plague Republican fundraiser and Bush-Cheney Pioneer Tom Noe was indicted on 53 criminal counts for his involvement in an investment scheme that robbed the Ohio Workers Compensation Bureau out of more than $13 million, the Associated Press today reported that two more indictments have been handed down in the case.

According to the AP, two former aides to Republican Governor Bob Taft, Doug Moormann and Douglas Talbott, will face criminal charges stemming from their relationship with Noe. Moormann, Taft's former executive assistant for business and industry, is charged with failing to report a $5,000 loan from Noe in 2004. Talbott, Taft's former director of boards and commissioners, allegedly failed to report a $39,000 loan from Noe in 2002 and made illegal contributions of $1,000 each to three Ohio Supreme Court justices. [Associated Press, 2/24/06]

In addition to Taft’s own conviction on criminal charges last August, Moorman and Talbott are the third and fourth Taft aides to face charges.

“Each new indictment makes the breathtaking scope of the Republican culture of corruption just that much clearer,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. “From Tom Noe and Bob Taft to Bob Ney and indicted Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ohio Republicans have fostered a pay-to-play scheme that reaches from Columbus to Washington.

“Ohio can do better. Voters in the Buckeye State deserve strong Democratic leaders who will cut through the web of corruption spun by Republicans in Columbus and Washington and provide the honest leadership and open government that Ohioans deserve.”