Governors' ex-aide linked to campaign probe

Governors' ex-aide linked to campaign probe
Friday, June 03, 2005
John Caniglia, Sandy Theis and Becky GaylordPlain Dealer Reporters

H. Douglas Talbott, a former top aide to two Ohio governors, told federal authorities that Republican coin dealer Tom Noe persuaded him to contribute $2,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign - then reimbursed him for the donation, The Plain Dealer has learned.

Talbott appeared Wednesday before a federal grand jury in Toledo that is investigating whether Noe illegally reimbursed as many as two dozen contributors to a Bush fund-raiser in October 2003. The grand jury is looking into whether Noe made the reimbursements to circumvent campaign finance laws, which limit individual contributions to $2,000.

Repeated attempts to reach Talbott were unsuccessful.

His appearance before the grand jury marked the first time a former top aide to Gov. Bob Taft and former Gov. George Voinovich has been linked to the federal investigation of possible laundering of Bush campaign money.

Jon Richardson, an attorney for Noe, could not be reached for comment.

In a separate investigation, the Ohio Ethics Commission is looking into a personal loan that Talbott received from Noe in 2002 to buy a home in Lakeside, near Port Clinton.
He is not the only former state employee who once advised Noe on his state duties, then benefited from Noe's largess.

Doug Moorman, a former executive assistant to Taft, told The Plain Dealer that he accepted a $5,000 loan from Noe.

The payment occurred in August 2004 - about 13 months after Moorman left the state payroll to join the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, he said.

Terms of the loan are not in writing, Moorman said. In fact, the only term appears to a promise of repayment.