U.S. Treasury Dept. investigating Noe, newspaper reports

[OzarkDem]

Coingate comes to Washington DC...

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer- it appears the US Treasury is investigating Coingate leader Tom Noe for his activities serving on a committee at the US Treasury...

"Toledo- The U.S. Treasury Department is investigating Toledo rare-coin dealer Tom Noe over his role as a member of a committee that advised the department on coin design, a newspaper reported."

Link to the PD article


http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1143966962212420.xml&coll=2

Link to the Toledo Blade article

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060402/NEWS24/604020344

[cmd]

1. What should we be watching for in the future?

I'm not a coin collector and know nothing about "palladium" coins. What do you think Noe was up to this time? What was in it for him?

[Broadslidin]

2. Placing our Supreme Leader, 'Bush's Head' on the The 24 Karat Coin..!

Tom :smoke: Noe's ultimate fantasy was nearly realized!

[UpInArms]

3. also from the Cleveland link:

In May 2003, the White House and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, recommended Noe for the 11-member advisory committee, the newspaper reported.Treasury Secretary John Snow appointed him less than six months after Noe expressed an interest in joining the committee.

"I have always had interest in getting more involved on the national level," Noe wrote to Henrietta Fore, then the director of the U.S. Mint.

The e-mails showed that Noe used his federal appointment to influence policy and seek access to inside information that could benefit him as a rare-coin dealer, the newspaper said.

I wonder if that WH recommendation was a payback?

[OzarkDem]

4. Seems logical

I imagine that's what the treasury dept is looking into. It certainly sounds ripe for exploitation, with Noe having advance inside knowledge of numismatic releases he could profit from and we all know he was a master at laundering taxpayer dollars into GOP candidates' accounts.

[WhiteTara]

5. with a trail right to the WH door

According to e-mails, the White House played a key role in helping Mr. Noe win a seat on the newly minted committee.

Officially, House Speaker Hastert, an Illinois Republican, recommended Mr. Noe to Treasury Secretary Snow, but an e-mail from Ms. Marchessault to Kim Nickles, a treasury liaison to the White House, revealed that Mr. Noe was an "original White House recommendation," whom she was "finally able to get on the committee through the congressional recommendations."

In February, 2003, during a visit to the White House, Mr. Noe was expected to take part in an "Ohio political strategy session" with Karl Rove, who is considered the architect of President Bush's political career, and Ken Mehlman, who was later named the President's campaign manager.
Yikes almighty. I wonder how much they stole from the treasury?

[OzarkDem]

7. This is really strange, too

from the Toledo Blade article

"In April, 2003, President Bush signed a bill establishing the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which replaced the Citizens Commemorative Coinage Advisory Committee, a panel that advised the treasury secretary on commemorative coin designs.

According to e-mails, the White House played a key role in helping Mr. Noe win a seat on the newly minted committee."

Why did Bush deem it necessary to dismantle the Citizen's Commemorative Coinage Advisory Committee and replace it with the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee?

It seems benign at first until you look at the MO for GOP's recent activities in stealing from taxpayers - they always dismantle he old system and set up a new one that usually seems to be the same but isn't. In Ohio, anyway, these kinds of committees, boards and special programs are usually a front for stealing or laundering taxpayer money, or taking kickbacks.

There's probably something very unusual that this committee has been doing.

[WhiteTara]

8. I wonder if we open the doors of Fort Knox

we will find an empty vault with a little smilie face note saying Nah Nah Nah - fooled you for the last time. Think we would impeach then?

[WhiteTara]

6. but wait there's more! Greed

got him. I hope he sits in jail with bad food, sheets and roommates for years to come.

"Had there not been all of the problems in Ohio, he might have been a candidate at some point for Mint director," said Mr. Johnson, a one-term Democratic congressman from Wisconsin who was nominated by President Bill Clinton for the post. "These are political appointments."

Mr. Johnson said the Mint is "not really an independent operator" because Congress calls the shots in creating coins.

"I don't think that Tom Noe could have used his position on this advisory committee to make any changes or pass anything that affected the market or made any personal profits for him; not even the Mint director can do that," said Mr. Johnson, who is a consultant to Collectors Universe. The California-based company provides grading and products to dealers and collectors of coins and other collectibles.

But Scott Travers, a coin expert and author, said Mr. Noe could have benefited financially from his federal appointment.