Closing arguments concluded Tuesday in the trial of a prominent coin dealer accused of stealing at least $2 million from a state investment, with prosecutors calling him a swindler and defense attorneys portraying him as a victim of bad bookkeeping.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberating the fate of Tom Noe on Wednesday after hearing three weeks of testimony in a trial that had threatened to hurt Republicans on Election Day.

Noe, 52, has pleaded not guilty to charges of theft, money laundering, forgery and corrupt activity.

A one-time prominent GOP fundraiser, Noe began taking state money for himself and his business as soon as the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation gave him an initial $25 million that he was supposed to invest in rare coins, Lucas County Assistant Prosecutor John Weglian said in his closing argument.

"He was stealing," Weglian said. "The corrupt activity began the moment he got the money."

The insurance fund for injured workers gave Noe $25 million in 1998 followed by another $25 million in 2001.

Prosecutors say Noe loaned the money to friends. Former employees said he borrowed some of the state's money to pay off business loans and to prop up his coin business when sales were slow.

Defense attorney John Mitchell said Noe had permission from the bureau to invest the money and that the coin fund produced $7.9 million in profits over seven years.

Defense attorney Bill Wilkinson said the bureau was so pleased, it gave Noe the second $25 million to invest.

"What better proof do you have that the bureau consented to the way Tom Noe was handling the coin fund?" Wilkinson said.

Weglian said Noe violated the bureau contract by failing to keep full and accurate records of the financial transactions. Weglian said $3.3 million was missing from the coin fund between September 2003 and May 2005, when Noe was relieved of his duties as the fund manager.

Wilkinson said Noe was the victim of bad bookkeeping.

"We're admitting — not great record-keeping," Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson said Noe had no reason to steal the money, adding that he became a millionaire at age 25.

"Mr. Noe was a wealthy man," Wilkinson said. "He had a business. He had properties."

Prosecutors spent three weeks and called more than 50 witnesses presenting evidence. Noe's defense team rested Monday without calling any witnesses.

Democrats say Noe got the money because of his political connections. The scandal permeated campaign advertisements and debates for state offices.

Mitchell said Noe was active in working for the re-election of GOP candidates, but that there is no evidence that he got the coin-fund contract because of connections.

"We don't convict people in this country based on who they associate with," he said.

Prosecutors have not said whether Noe is suspected of using the money to make campaign contributions to Republicans, including President Bush and Gov. Bob Taft.

Noe, in a separate case, pleaded guilty earlier this year to funneling $45,000 to Bush's re-election campaign and was sentenced last month to two years and three months in federal prison. He won't begin that sentence until after the state charges are resolved.

Federal prosecutors could have sought a stiffer penalty in that case if they thought the state money had been used for the donations.

The investigation into Noe's coin investments have led to separate ethics charges against Taft, who pleaded no contest last year to failing to report golf outings and other gifts. About a dozen others, including some of Taft's aides, also were charged.

In his closing arguments leveling allegations against Noe, Larry Kiroff, an assistant Lucas County prosecutor, said the books were cooked and false invoices were created to hide how the money was being spent.

"It's a shell game," Kiroff said. "It is a con shell game."

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