Quote of the day
"You cooked the books ... it was an elaborate scheme."
Ohio Judge Thomas Osowik, before sentencing former coin dealer and Republican Party fundraiser Tom Noe, the central figure in the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's "Coingate" scandal, to 18 years in state prison
Shasta Builders’ Exchange CEO Takes Self ‘Out of the Picture’
Kent Dagg, chief executive officer of Shasta Builders’ Exchange, says he resigned his State Compensation Insurance Fund directorship to focus on an affordable housing initiative in Redding. Dagg denies that he and another board member stepped down to avoid a potential conflict of interest stemming from the fees they earn by running workers’ comp programs through State Fund. By Scott Mobley, Redding Record Searchlight
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DWC Official Responds to Vacaville Worker’s Plight
Carrie Nevans, the acting administrative director of the California Division of Workers’ Compensation, responds to an injured Vacaville worker’s recent letter to the editor about the personal hell he has endured since filing a workers’ compensation claim. By Carrie Nevans via Vacaville Reporter
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Judgment Day for Noe: 18 Years in Prison, $13.7 Million Restitution
A judge sentences Toledo-area businessman Tom Noe, who was convicted last week on 29 charges of looting the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s $50 million rare-coin fund and who refused a plea deal that would have landed him only 10 years, to 18 years and an estimated $13.7 million in restitution. Before serving his state sentence, Noe must complete a 27-month federal stint for laundering more than $45,000 in contributions to the Bush/Cheney presidential campaign. By Steve Eder and Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Brokers May Testify in Bribery Trial
The two brokers accused of bribing a former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation investment bigwig may testify in their trial after a federal judge summons them to the bench to tell them about their right to do so. By AP via WHIO-TV (Dayton)
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NIOSH Abandons Sept. 11 Autopsy Guidelines
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health abandons efforts to create standard autopsy guidelines that could document a link between toxic air at the site of the World Trade Center and the deaths of Sept. 11 rescue workers amid concerns the information could be “misinterpreted or misapplied.” By Larry McShane, AP via Fox News
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Commentary: Show Me State’s Reform Yields Mixed Results
How Missouri’s recently-reformed workers’ compensation law really works depends upon whom you ask. One Division of Workers’ Compensation official says the lengthy duration of workers’ comp cases make it “too early to tell” whether the reforms fixed anything. By Repps Hudson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Alberta WCB to Reverse Surveillance Policy
The Workers’ Compensation Board routinely has withheld video evidence from injured workers, despite legislation requiring full disclosure, according to the Edmonton Sun. However, the WCB is changing the policy after a complaint to the province’s ombudsman, saying that after Dec. 1 it will release all surveillance evidence to workers. By Jeremy Loome, Edmonton Sun
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Paperwork Snafu Leaves Garden State Claimants in the Lurch
More than 3,000 injured New Jersey workers cannot collect workers’ compensation settlements because a company owned by an Indian tribe in Oklahoma is behind in its paperwork. By Bob Braun, Newark Star-Ledger
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