GOP political heavyweight pleads guilty to 27 felonies, but . . .
At a Monday plea change hearing, former Clark County sheriff Jamey Noel (R) pleads guilty to 27 felony charges under a plea negotiation which would see four felony counts of ghost employment dropped.
Noel would serve a sentence of 15 years in custody of the Indiana Department of Correction with three years converted to probation. He still faces a civil restitution lawsuit filed by the Office of the Attorney General, as well as another filed by the children of Noel’s late brother seeking compensation for usurping much of their inheritance while overseeing the estate, based on findings of an Indiana State Police investigation.
Noel would also be required to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution to four different public entities:
– $2,870,924 to Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Ass’n (New Chapel EMS)
– $173,155.07 to the Indiana Department of Revenue
– $61,190.77 to the Clark County Sheriff’’ Department
– $35,245.60 to the Indiana State Police (for evidence storage fees)
So this brings to an effective close what may be Indiana’s largest-ever public corruption case, involving many millions of dollars and ensnaring several other public officials (late this month, former Clark County Council member Brittney Ferree (R) and current Clark County Councilor John Miller (R) were charged with felony conflict of interest, adding to the litany), right?
“Not so fast, my friend,” as Hoosier legend Lee Corso would say.
We believe that the special judge in the case is likely to reject the plea deal, and that others will yet be charged in the far-reaching scheme overseen by the former CD 09 and Clark County Republican Party chair, a local, regional, and state power broker who helped propel Governor Eric Holcomb (R) win his surprise 2016 nomination by helping to broker votes for him on the Indiana Republican State Committee on which Noel served.
Special Judge Larry Medlock is delaying his approval of the deal, taking it under advisement pending hearing more from individual and governmental victims of Noel’s actions. “Not just management, not just the sheriff’s department. I mean EMS workers who have lost their jobs, paramedics that are not out there saving people because the money was diverted for pleasures,” the judge explained. “I want to hear from people that don’t have $800 belts,” the Ripley County jurist continues. I want to hear from taxpayers that have been aggrieved by the actions of this individual.”
Some suggest to us that Judge Medlock wants to have some key questions answered about crimes that have not yet been exposed involving other Noel associates, including former elected and appointed public officials . . . as well as clarification about where much of the millions of dollars allegedly misappropriated by Noel, his family members, and associates originated.
Meanwhile, Noel’s wife, Misty Noel, who filed for divorce, also faces trial on related charges, as does their daughter, Kasey Noel, both for theft and tax evasion. Their respective jury trials are scheduled for October 28, and Judge Medlock late this month denied their motions for joinder.
In addition to her own legal trouble resulting from her and Jamey’s alleged actions, Misty can’t be feeling too positive about Jamey after the investigation revealed he had paid six-figures worth of child support to Ferree from misappropriated public funds, had used public dollars for her travel, and gifted her a BMW . . . while also carrying on a personal relationship with another top (now former) county official.
Kasey’s attorney has been trying to get court approval for an expert witness on “coercive control” who would detail how Jamey subjected his family to “manipulation.”
The amount of cash that flowed through the Noel scheme seems to be well in excess of what might have been generated from the Clark County Jail commissary fund and New Chapel EMS and related budgets.
WDRB-TV in Louisville cites a State Board of Accounts audit finding that “from 2019-23, New Chapel received a total of $3.9 million in public money from Clark and Floyd counties. Over that same four-year period, Noel was paid $582,564 in wages, as listed on his W-2. But auditors said he was paid even more money off the books. Over that four-year period, auditors said New Chapel made $4.4 million in payments on an American Express credit card, $2 million of which Noel spent alone. The audit details the roughly $4.4 million Noel, his wife Misty and daughter Kasey all racked up on the New Chapel EMS American Express credit card, roughly between 2019 and the end of 2023.”
Noel and his family were ordered by SBOA to pay all of the money back, an estimated $4.4 million . . . an amount in addition to $918,000 that SBOA says he owes to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Jail Commissary fund. That separate audit covered 2015-17 and 2019-22.
There are further questions about how Noel obtained all of the money and who helped him get it; whether this was part of an even larger criminal operation for which Noel is taking the fall; who helped him in managing all of his finances, including the ill-gotten gains and property; as well as why the U.S. Department of Justice did not get involved in the wide-ranging big-buck case which crossed county and state lines and involved mail fraud.
We’ve been pointed to a potential tipping point last month on this point. Noel’s defense team filed a request to depose 20 individuals throughout August, many of whom are current or former public officials or employees in Clark County, Floyd County, and Scott County who worked with Noel – or even against him (one is an attorney for one of his former employers seeking to block his further access to organizational funds). Assorted theories abound as to why Noel wants these individuals on record, but it appears that plea negotiations began after Noel began to involve these people, their institutions, or businesses (such as John Jones Auto, which has assumed a prominent role in the investigation with lots of questions raised about the dealer’s related dealings but few details about Noel’s professional or personal connection to the firm or its principals). Some speculate that the prosecution did not want information about some of these individuals and their involvement released to protect witnesses, immunity agreements, or potential future charges against some.
One thing that has been pointed out to us by locals: the four people charged with Noel all seem like small fish in the larger scheme of things – effectively users of the Noel proceeds, but not orchestrators of the plan.
No sentencing date has yet been slated, and expectations are that it will require more than one day. Meanwhile, Jamey Noel remains incarcerated in the Scott County Jail, under the supervision of Sheriff Jerry Goodin (D), the brother of Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Terry Goodin (D).
The extensive Indiana State Police investigation concluded that Noel was dipping into public accounts to purchase high-end personal items, and pay for international travel and college and graduate school tuition for family members. He is also accused of converting government-owned items, including classic cars and airplanes whose purchase he directed, to his personal use. Noel is also accused of using public employees to work on his personal properties.
We’ve heard at least one prominent Republican question whether Governor Holcomb might pardon Noel, who was the original chair of his 2016 and 2020 campaigns – a scenario you should not expect to come to fruition.
This all should remind you how fraught things are for Republicans in Clark County, Floyd County, and, arguably nearby counties including Scott County where Noel’s influence was strong and others were said to be collaborating with him on some of his unseemly activities. We’ve told you about some of the legislative races in the area which could be impacted, and one would expect that the challenge race of Jeffersonville City Councilor Scott Hawkins (R) against Rep. Wendy Dant Chesser (D) would be negatively affected by the new Ferree and Miller charges in Clark County . . . and that Democrats running against candidates such as Rep. Zach Payne (R) will dredge up old photos prominently featuring Noel with their opponents.
The scenario and Noel’s original protestations of innocence remind some of the apocryphal story about the mayor of a community in The Region telling law enforcement authorities after being charged, “But I just woke up one morning and discovered that vandals had built this fancy swimming pool in my back yard.”