toledoblade.com -- Ohio ethics commission says Noe has conflict of interest

COLUMBUS - Tom Noe cannot be a member of the Ohio Board of Regents while having a financial interest in a start-up business at the University of Toledo, the Ohio Ethics Commission said yesterday.

In a unanimous decision, the five-member commission issued an "informal advisory opinion" that calls on Mr. Noe to either resign from the regents or divest from Hi-Genomics LLC.

Mr. Noe is a general partner and an investor of Hi-Genomics, formed to take advantage of the research of UT professors Steve Goldman and Sairam Rudrabhatla.

In its opinion, the commission said Mr. Noe is prohibited by state law from having a "financial and fiduciary interest" in Hi-Genomics while on the board of regents, who oversee Ohio's public colleges and universities. He could retain that position if he dropped out of Hi-Genomics.

Neither Mr. Noe nor his attorney could not be reached for comment.

Goldman

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Peter Silverman, also an investor in Hi-Genomics, said he would support whatever decision Mr. Noe makes. Mr. Silverman is a local attorney and a member of the Toledo Board of Education.

"Tom asked for an opinion to do what's ethical, and he'll have to make a decision," Mr. Silverman said.

Mr. Noe, a local coin dealer and a prominent Republican, is also chairman of the Ohio Turnpike Commission. He owns a 23 percent stake in Hi-Genomics.

Mr. Noe initiated the ethics review when he sent a letter Dec. 7 to David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, requesting an opinion.

In that letter, Mr. Noe told the commission that he may resign from the regents, step down as vice president of the company, or assign his "ownership interest" to a third party not under his control. His goal, he wrote, is to "prevent conflicts of interest."

Hi-Genomics is a young company that has a method for rapid and efficient plant genetic engineering that was developed by Mr. Goldman and Mr. Rudrabhatla. UT holds the patent to the method, and Hi-Genomics licenses the patent from the university.

Mr. Noe was appointed to the Ohio Board of Regents in 1995 by former Gov. George Voinovich to complete a vacated term and reappointed by Gov. Bob Taft for a full nine-year term in 1999.

In his letter to the state, Mr. Noe said he is general partner in a partnership that owns 23 percent of Hi-Genomics and that he is a personal guarantor of a line of credit bank loan for the company. The company did not make money last year, Mr. Noe reported.

Mr. Goldman is director of the plant science research center at the university while Mr. Rudrabhatla is assistant director.

Contact Mike Wilkinson at:
mwilkinson@theblade.com or
419-724-6104.

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