Noe's lawyer says Taft knew about coin fund in 2001

8/19/2005, 9:38 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A prominent Republican fundraiser who invested state money in rare coins discussed the arrangement with Gov. Bob Taft in May 2001, contradicting the governor's assertion that he didn't learn of it until this year, the fundraiser's lawyer said.

Taft has claimed that until he read newspaper reports in April, he was unaware of Tom Noe's $50 million investment for the state insurance fund for injured workers.

"Tom Noe and Bob Taft had a face-to-face meeting in May 2001 in Toledo, at which time Mr. Noe described for Gov. Taft his operation of Coin Fund One for the (Ohio) Bureau of Workers' Compensation," Noe's lawyer, William Wilkinson, told The Columbus Dispatch for a story Friday.