Doesn't this just make you want to get up and dance with glee?
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS09/60414013The Tom Noe saga could continue into this year’s local elections for the Lucas County Republican Party, potentially crippling its ability to help candidates.
Months after the party decided to convert $63,000 in outstanding loans from Mr. Noe into contributions, prosecutors say they believe the party cannot waive the debt. Election officials and a special prosecutor are examining whether the party violated Ohio campaign finance laws.
Julia Bates, the county prosecutor, said yesterday she has referred the matter to Lynn Grimshaw, a special prosecutor working in southern Ohio. Ms. Bates said the party asked Mr. Noe to drop the loan but said documents show he was “not in a position to forgive the loan.”
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What irks the party further is how the loans originated. The party’s bylaws say the executive committee must approve all obligations exceeding $5,000. Neither in 2002 nor in 2004 did the committee vote on the loans. Instead, they were reportedly accepted by Mr. Noe’s wife, Bernadette, when she was chairman of the party.
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The elections board has told the Ohio Elections Commission that the party failed to amend two reports, from 1999 and 2000, that were $28,600 off. The commission has several options: find there is a violation and fine the party; find there is a violation and refer it back to prosecutors, or find there is not a violation.