Once upon a time in the Land of Noe..

Ya just can't make this stuff up.

Headline from this morning's Toledo Blade:

GOP's Wack stole silver in '89
She took tableware as New York nanny

Joanne Wack, the executive director of the Lucas County Republican Party, stole sterling silver tableware in 1989 while working as a nanny in an affluent suburban New York neighborhood, The Blade has learned from police, court, and newspaper records from Westchester County, New York.

Wack, then 23, was arrested March 28, 1989, on a felony charge of third-degree grand larceny for taking silverware worth more than $5,000 from a home in which she was a live-in domestic worker.

This all came to light when Ms. Wack was testifying in court recently and lied on the stand, under oath, about not having a criminal record. At that point, a recess was called, Ms. Wack's attorney was advised as to the truth of the situation and she was allowed to "correct" her testimony.

In Ohio, convicted felons are disqualified from being elected to public office, such as precinct committee members. And, although it is true that Ohio law allows for those convicted of their first criminal offense to have their record "expunged" it does not happen automatically. I don't know the system (if any) in New York, but in Ohio, the defendent has to petition the court to have the offense taken off of their record. And then, one of the first things that the court checks is to see if the defendant has paid all of their fines, court costs and restitution. According to the Blade, the victim "did not get much in the way of restitution. She recovered some of her possessions from a pawn shop, with the assistance of local police."

It is very interesting to contrast the reality of this theft with Ms. Wack's claim that "It was a disagreement."

Bear in mind, Ms. Wack is a direct employee of the Lucas county Republican Party who could dismiss her in a minute-- but has chosen not to do so. This is the same organization that was found to have completely falsified legally required campaign finance reports for at least two years and yet received less than a slap on the wrist.

It's interesting that there are those bloggers who at the height of the Coingate scandal, argued that there was no purpose to criminal prosecution of the NUMEROUS Republican operatives and office holders who were found to have committed criminal acts but who were either just not prosecuted, given the smallest consequences imaginable or where given "get out of jail free" grants of immunity for their crimes, supposedly in exchange for testimony against Tom Noe. Testimony that one could argue was completely unneeded in order to secure Noe's indictment and conviction.

And oddly enough, those same bloggers aren't touching this story. Despite the fact that according to the Blade:

A search through local court records yesterday turned up 13 legal judgments and three criminal cases going back to 1992 and involving medical bills, the Girl Scouts of Maumee Valley, a car wreck, and passing bad checks.

It's really disgusting to read the justifications excuses and rationalizations that prominent Lucas county Republicans offer to defend this woman. Take for example, former state legislator Mr. Lynn Olman. Mr. Olman is the guy who purchased Tom and Bernadette Noe's Lucas county condo so that they could flee to live in Florida. Why Florida? Because Florida law protects con artists and criminals from having their assets seized by court orders from other states, thus protecting their palatial new digs from being seized in an effort to pay Mr. Noe's fines, court costs and restitution, or any civil recovery.

Mr. Olman's present employment? As a lobbyist and spokesman for those trying to screw over Ohio's consumers on utility regulation.

Tom Noe was NOT some bad guy who acted alone. He and his wife were deeply entrenched in the life of the entire Ohio GOP. His funds played a significant role in the razor thin margin that returned the Shrub to the White House along with MANY other GOP officeholders.

And although it may be a cliché, there is a deep rooted, pervasive and insidious "Culture of Corruption" that saturates the Republican Party.

And which continues unchecked TO THIS DAY.