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Ethics lapses not trivial matter, experts say
But ethics experts say Ohio law makes it a crime to accept but not report gifts for an important reason: Disclosure sheds light on potential conflicts of interest and those who may be trying to influence public officials. Some experts point to the scandals surrounding Maumee coin dealer Thomas W. Noe and suggest that questions about Noe would have surfaced earlier had ethics laws been followed more closely. Noe provided golf, meals and other favors to Taft; Brian K. Hicks, the governor's former chief of staff; and others in state government. Almost none of them was reported. Noe has been accused of stealing $4 million for personal use from a rare-coin fund he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation since 1998. Noe has reported a shortfall of up to $13 million from the $50 million investment. "This is about more than just golf," said Christopher M. Fairman, an associate law professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law. "It's about a fundamental principle of representative government -- which is, we don't want our public officials to have conflicts of interest." … It's important that public officials avoid even the appearance that their decisions could have been compromised, Fairman said, and the easiest way to do that is to report all gifts -- or not accept anything that has to be reported. "Even people who appear to be squeaky clean can engage in behavior that leads them down the course of violating the public trust."
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