Coin dealer in prison fights 2006 conviction for $13.7 million theft

By Mark Niquette for THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The coin dealer convicted of stealing state money in a scandal that helped Democrats recapture most statewide offices in 2006 has appealed, arguing in part that he didn’t get a fair trial.

In the appeal filed yesterday, Republican Thomas W. Noe’s lawyers argue that his conviction should be overturned or that he should be resentenced because his 18-year prison term is too harsh.

They allege that his rights were violated because, among other things, the trial was not moved out of Lucas County, where Noe faced an “overwhelmingly negative media onslaught” before and during the trial.

The appeal filed with the state’s 6th District Court of Appeals in Toledo lists seven major grounds for vacating Noe’s conviction and sentence, including that prosecutors failed to prove each element of each specific charge.

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia R. Bates said yesterday that she had not yet read the appeal, but she insisted that Noe received a fair trial. Although it was a high-profile case, most of the prospective jurors didn’t know many of the details, she said.

Noe, 53, managed a $50 million investment in rare coins and other items for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The investment was shut down in May 2005, and Noe was found guilty of stealing $13.7 million for personal use.

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by Gregory Elich

North Korea, it is often said, is a criminal state. One of the more persistent stories supporting that allegation is that the North Koreans are counterfeiting U.S. currency. Through repetition, the claim has taken on an aura of proven fact. This in turn has been cited as justification for everything from imposing punitive measures against North Korea to suggesting that the nation cannot be trusted as a partner in nuclear negotiations.

The evidence against North Korea is widely regarded as convincing. “The North Koreans have denied that they are engaged in the distribution and manufacture of counterfeits,” says Daniel Glaser of the U.S. Treasury Department, “but the evidence is overwhelming that they are. There’s no question of North Korea’s involvement.”1 There is no denying that North Korean citizens have been caught passing counterfeit currency in Europe and Asia, and some defectors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK — the formal name for North Korea) claim to have first-hand knowledge of state-run counterfeiting operations. In Western media reports the case is treated as proven. Yet the closer one examines the matter, the murkier the picture becomes.

Counterfeit currency attributed to North Korea raises deep concern due to its extremely high quality. Dubbed supernotes, their production process closely matches that of the genuine article, and the engraving is so fine it rivals that of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.2

Unlike most of the world’s counterfeit currency, which is printed on offset presses or through digital processes, supernotes are printed on an intaglio press. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses Giori intaglio presses for the engraved portions of its bank notes, and an offset press for the background colors. Supernotes use the same technology. An intaglio press operates by applying ink on its plates and then wiping them clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. The plate is then pressed against the paper, depositing the ink in ridges. The result is raised printing that ordinary counterfeits can’t duplicate. Supernotes have the same look and feel as U.S. currency. (more…)

The European Central Bank has launched an investigation after counterfeit €50 notes were advertised for sale on the internet.

The notes are being offered in bundles of 21, for a price of €50, by a British printing company.

The website in question claims the fake notes were ordered for use in a Hollywood blockbuster movie that has since been abandoned.

It is selling 2,000 bundles, each comprising of 21 counterfeit notes, for €50. A disclaimer on the website says the notes should only be used for entertainment purposes. This follows a claim that the counterfeit currency is so good, some banks could not spot them as being fake.

The European Central Bank says it is treating as very serious the possibility that counterfeit notes are being sold online.

It has launched an investigation as to whether the strict reproduction rules governing euro banknotes have been broken and says it will follow up its enquiries by contacting the relevant national authorities. Full Story Here