Atty Gen: Dann (D) Issues Strong Statement on Noe

Attorney general candidate State Sen. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) shows how it's done, as far as a political campaign staying on top of breaking news. Reacting to the report that disgraced Toledo Republican money man Tom Noe plans to change his not-guilty plea in the federal prosecution against him, Dann stood in the rain in front of the statehouse around 11:00 pm last night in order to do an interview with NBC-4. Here is the text of his statement to the press:

Guilty pleas would only serve to accelerate the march toward ultimate accountability for one of the biggest crooks in Ohio history. Tom Noe's illegal funneling of $45,400 in contributions to President Bush was a shameless perversion of the American political system and the worst crime of its kind in the history of modern election law. Yet shockingly, it is the least of Tom Noe's problems. No plea deal will be enough to escape the 53-count indictment he faces for his crimes at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Given his closeness to Bob Taft, Betty Montgomery, and other prominent Republican leaders, I suspect that Mr. Noe may not be the biggest fish to fry in this corruption scandal.