Ohio’s Disappearing Coin/Photo Trick

By Philip Curtis
ePluribus Media

In the wake of the Ohio “Coingate” scandal, several photos — including an image of Tom Noe socializing with former governor aide Doug Talbott at the lakefront home of prominent Ohio lobbyist Richard L. Boylan — were removed from the Web site of Boylan’s lobbying firm, RLB Group, Inc.

According to a May 25 article in The Toledo Blade, “Mr. Talbott, a former aide to Republican Governors George Voinovich and Mr. Taft and now a lobbyist, has said he had some meals with Mr. Noe in Columbus, but he never accepted gratuities from him.”

Noe, a major contributor to state and national elected officials, is facing possible criminal and civil charges relating to campaign money laundering and his management of Ohio’s controversial $50 million coin fund investment. Noe’s passport has been surrendered and his major assets have been frozen. The investigations are being turned over to the federal Justice Department.
In April of this year, RLB Group’s Web site featured a “Friends and Family” page that included a photo of Noe posing with Talbott at a waterfront party held at Boylan’s Catawba Island home. By May 25, however, when The Toledo Blade published its article reporting that the Ohio inspector general requested records relating to “high ranking aide” Talbott, the photo of Noe and Talbott had been removed.

Web Site Altered

Recent deletions from Boylan’s lobbying Web site include removal of a head-and-shoulders photo of Talbott and a link to his biography. Also, two 2003 photos of social activities at Boylan’s “lake house” were removed from the Friends and Family page.

One image depicts Talbott and Noe, beverages in hand, as they pose together amidst tables decorated in a red, white and blue theme.

A second image features Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and his wife, Nancy, at a Boylan Catawba Island waterfront party.

Cached copies of Boylan’s Web site available through archive.org verify that the referenced images of Noe, Talbott and Petro remained untouched throughout 2004. The April 22 Google cache shows that the images remained in place on that date. The last modified date of the altered Web pages is the morning of May 25, 2005 — the day The Toledo Blade published its story mentioning Talbott’s involvement in the coin fund case.

Richard L. Boylan

The RLB Group, Inc., bills itself as possessing “The knowledge and experience to get things done in today’s state government.” Boylan’s summary of his government service includes the statement, “Mr. Boylan served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio representing the Bureau of Workers Compensation.”

The Bureau of Workers Compensation is the state office that established the financial arrangements with Tom Noe’s coin fund. Boylan’s tenure as assistant attorney general preceded the state of Ohio’s investment in the fund.

Both Boylan and Noe owned Catawba Island residences. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, recently sold their home in advance of their announced relocation to Florida.

Doug Talbott

Doug Talbott’s Hurst Government Consulting is listed as sharing Suite 220 at 21 East State Street with the RLB Group. Talbott’s former RLB Group biography states:

The governor’s office was responsible for appointing Noe to both the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Turnpike Commission.

Attorney General Jim Petro

Boylan party guest and Ohio state official Jim Petro has been accused of being slow to investigate the coin fund issue. The Toledo Blade reported on May 25:”State Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) called Mr. Petro a `Johnny-come-lately,’ taking action 51 days after The Blade first reported that the bureau had invested $50 million in rare-coin funds controlled by Mr. Noe, who has contributed to the campaign funds of Mr. Petro, Governor Taft, state Auditor Betty Montgomery, and many other top Ohio Republicans.”

Brian K. Hicks

Boylan maintains a second Web page at rlbgroup.com where he publishes photographs of himself posing with both Ohio and national political officials. An image that still remains on the Photo Gallery page depicts Brian Hicks, another state employee whose records are being examined in the coin-fund probe. Hicks is shown standing next to Bush advisor Karl Rove. The two men are joined by Boylan and Bush Pioneer Bill Antonoplos. Antonoplos’ Capital Square Consulting lobbying firm is listed as occupying Suite 220 along with Boylan’s and Talbott’s lobbying companies.

Brian Hicks describes his qualifications at his Hicks Partners, LLC, Web site (emphasis ours):

Other Changes to the Web Site

Only one other change to the RLB Group Web site in the April 22 to May 25 time frame has been identified. A biography that designated Boylan’s son, Rick, as vice president of the company was removed. The only trace of the deleted bio is this snippet from the Yahoo cache: “RICK BOYLAN. Vice President of Government Relations, RLB Group, Inc. Rick Boylan was born in Rocky River, Ohio, and grew up in Westlake, Ohio.”