While the media Big Feet have been two-stepping all over the ethics problems of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, readers of the Toledo Blade have been treated to their own unfolding saga of political shenanigans: Coin-gate.
In the latest installment, published yesterday, reporters James Drew and Mike Wilkinson disclose that 121 rare coins — purchased as a questionable investment with Ohio Bureau of Worker Compensation funds — are missing. The missing coins, including two worth $300,000, were bought by a powerful local Republican fund-raiser and coin dealer, who is overseeing $50 million worth of coin investments for the state.
Tom Noe, the dealer, has deep ties to the Republican administration in Columbus as well as the Bush White House. He currently is under FBI investigation for possible federal campaign violations during last year’s election, according to the Blade.
In 2003, the two rare coins were reportedly “lost in the mail.” A Colorado coin dealer, working for a subsidiary owned by Noe, later was suspended from the Professional Numismatics Guild for violating the organization’s code of ethics.
That prompted an audit of the rest of the state’s coin collection, and last week the accountants declared they were unable to come up with another 119, which they said might have been stolen. Estimated value of the missing money was $93,000.
The Blade‘s Drew and Wilkinson broke the Coin-gate story a month ago, and have doggedly pursued it with a dozen or so stories as new information becomes available and reaction reverberates around Ohio.
Coin-gate provides an obvious lesson, but one worth repeating — frequently. Good stories are out there in abundance. All it takes are good reporters to uncover them and responsive newspapers to publish them. That’s what journalism is all about.
–Susan Q. Stranahan
Susan Q. Stranahan wrote for CJR.