[CPProt.net] Patrol seizes Beanie Babies, comic books from coin shop

[MSN CPPnet]

Patrol seizes Beanie Babies, comic books from coin shop
June 1, 2005

Associated Press


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The company overseeing the state's investment in rare coins
purchased a coin for $123,000 and resold it for 1 cent, an example cited by
State Highway Patrol investigators as possible criminal activity.

Patrol investigators searched Tom Noe's Toledo-area coin shop last week and
seized LeBron James rookie cards, Beanie Babies, comic books and thousands
of other collectibles, according to a search warrant and related affidavits
filed Tuesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Toledo.

The documents said the patrol was looking for evidence of theft, tampering
with evidence and obstructing justice.

Authorities said they weren't sure how much of the non-coin collectibles
were owned by Ohio taxpayers.

The search warrant's affidavit, signed by patrol Lt. Howard Hudson, cites a
list of transactions as evidence of fraud. The court documents say Noe's
Numismatic Professionals Ltd. sold one coin to a customer for a penny after
the company bought the coin for $122,990. Hudson says in the affidavit that
the transaction constitutes a theft of state property, but the documents
don't further describe the sale.

Numismatic Professionals was a company created with state money.

An attorney for Noe, told the state last week that $10 million to $12
million is missing from the $55 million coin fund owned by the Bureau of
Workers' Compensation.