Ohio Bureau of Workers Comp scandal hits the big time

The growing scandal in Ohio surrounding the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation‘s wildly inappropriate behavior has officially hit the big time. Initially surfaced by local press, and blogged on several occasions at Workers Comp Insider, the mess has just hit the national press. BWC’s investments in rare coins, affiliation with a politically-connected investment manager, apparent desire to hide losses totaling over $200 million, and perhaps even worse is covered in Paul Krugman’s column in today’s New York Times (free registration required).
Here’s one of Krugman’s more trenchant observations:
“We’re not just talking about campaign contributions, although Mr. Noe’s contributions ranged so widely that five of the state’s seven Supreme Court justices had to recuse themselves from cases associated with the scandal. (He’s also under suspicion of using intermediaries to contribute large sums, illegally, to the Bush campaign.) We’re talking about personal payoffs: bargain vacations for the governor’s chief of staff at Mr. Noe’s Florida home, the fact that MDL Capital employs the daughter of one of the members of the workers’ compensation oversight board, and more.”
One has to admit, this is lots of fun for outsiders. Perhaps now that Michael Jackson has returned to his devoted fans and home/amusement part/daycare center, and Scott Peterson has left the headlines, the press will focus on this mess, bringing notoriety and “human interest” to our little corner of the world. Imagine, workers comp will be the center of the cocktail party or soccer sideline discussion, enabling the cognoscenti (that’s us) to dispense our wisdom and hard-won knowledge to listeners eager to get in on the latest. I can see Peter Rousmaniere on “NightLine”, Tom Lynch on “Larry King Live”, Larry Dorman on Greta van Susteren, Jon Coppelman on “The Daily Show”…