Democratic Donor, Fugitive for 15 Years, Surrenders in California Fraud Case

New York Times ^ | 9/1/07 | By LESLIE WAYNE and CAROLYN MARSHALL

[JohnHuang2]

Norman Hsu, a prominent Democratic donor who had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for candidates, turned himself in to the authorities yesterday in California, where there was a 15-year-old warrant for his arrest in a fraud case.

Mr. Hsu was promptly handcuffed and jailed, the latest twist in a fast-moving political event in which candidates in the presidential campaign as well as in state and local races, have rushed to return money from Mr. Hsu because of his criminal past.

After posting $2 million for bail, Mr. Hsu was released and told to appear next Wednesday at a bail-reduction hearing. Mr. Hsu appeared before Judge H. James Ellis in San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, Calif., — the same court that heard the 1991 case against Mr. Hsu. At that time, Mr. Hsu pleaded no contest to a felony count of grand theft for defrauding investors of up to $1 million and became a fugitive after skipping a court hearing where he faced up to three years in prison.

James J. Brosnahan, Mr. Hsu’s lawyer, said that “we are moving toward a resolution of this matter,” and that Mr. Hsu and his lawyers had been meeting with the California attorney general’s office to work out a plan of restitution for victims of Mr. Hsu’s actions, some of whom have already been repaid.

“It was a bad business deal,” Mr. Brosnahan said. “We have to deal with the charges and get them resolved, and that’s what we are doing. We are moving to get this behind Mr. Hsu, who has been leading a life of exemplary conduct for the last 15 years.”

Part of that life included becoming a leading Democratic Party fund-raiser and personally contributing more than $600,000 to federal, state and municipal candidates in

[Wil H]

Dammit!

There goes the Dems' third biggest fund raiser............ LOL!

[USNBandit]

“.....Mr. Hsu, who has been leading a life of exemplary conduct for the last 15 years.”

Yeah, he's a veritable Marc Rich.

[TommyDale]

The guy skips out of a jail sentence for 15 years, and they let him post bail? He’s certainly a flight risk, since he has been laundering the dirty campaign money for who knows who.

[nathanbedford]

In an ideal world these activities would generate a federal indictment which would bring jurisdiction into the Department of Justice and then an alert and aggressive Republican Department of Justice would begin to sweat the food chain leading toward Hillary.

Alas, with people like George Bush and his former attorney general Gonzales setting the pace, there is not a ghost of a chance of any of this happening. One wonders, what will be interim attorney general do?

[libstripper]

This article is loaded with tidbits of information that ought to excite the interest of the DOJ, but probably won't due to the corrupt Bush/Clinton relationship you've alluded to:

There are many unanswered questions surrounding Mr. Hsu and his involvement with Democratic fund-raising. What is unclear is both the source of Mr. Hsu’s donations and how he became so well-connected with party leaders so quickly.

* * *

And Mr. Hsu’s business dealings in 1991 are as mysterious as they are today, a review of court findings shows.

For example, prosecutors asserted that as part of a scheme to defraud investors, Mr. Hsu fabricated relationships with several companies, whose representatives told investigators they had never heard of Mr. Hsu, and that he listed a mail drop as a business address. In a November 1991 court hearing, Mr. Hsu’s lawyer argued that he could not be linked, on paper, to a corporation that prosecutors said was created to carry out the scheme.

Similarly, for a number of businesses that Mr. Hsu has listed in recent years as his own, no corporation records are available, and visits to addresses he has given in campaign finance filings found no trace of them.

In one filing, he listed his occupation as a co-investor with a New Jersey fashion designer. But yesterday, the designer said he had never heard of Mr. Hsu and had never done business with him.

In other words, Hsu appears to have repeatedly filed false FEC reports indicating that his income came either from nonexistent businesses or one with which he actually had no relationship. Without too much apparent difficulty he's posted a $2,000,000 bond, once again with no real indication of of where the bondsman's fee or the security for the bond came from.

Earlier in the article there's one tantalizing line which gives an idea of where his contributions and income come from: "The [DemonRat] fund-raiser also said Mr. Hsu was seen as a point of access to Asian supporters and money[.]" My, my and who might be those "Asian supporters and money?" Could they, perchance, be the Chicoms???

[libstripper]

Here's a link to an Opinion Journal article that's a chronology including the Bush/Clinton relationship surrounding the doings at the Mena, Ark. airport: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110003549 Hence, it's pretty clear that the US DOJ isn't going to be investigating Mr. Hsu at any time in the near future, even though it's equally clear that he's probably involved in a massive, felonious conspiracy to bring millions of dollars of Chicom money into the DemonRat party.

[Kimberly GG]

If I’m understanding this correctly, how many years have Democrats been accepting contributions from a KNOWN fugitive?

[libstripper]

15 years.

[Popman]

He was co-chairman of fund-raisers with the political elite of New York and California, donated in states where he had no obvious personal ties, and was a “Hillraiser” in the campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, which meant that he pledged to raise at least $100,000 for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign from his friends, family members and other associates.

Imagine the NYT critique of Mr. Hsu if he was a "Rommeyraiser" or "Julieannieraiser" and had no obvious personal ties to important Republicans in various states.

I can only think they would be calling for multiple congressional investigation, excoriating the California AG, and repeating the mantra of "Culture of Corruption"

I'm waiting for the day the NYT starts printing Republican news in blood red print so nobody can miss it

[Eroteme]

Without too much apparent difficulty he's posted a $2,000,000 bond, once again with no real indication of of where the bondsman's fee or the security for the bond came from.

Worse. He paid the $2mil bond with a personal check.

Hsu's pattern of fake companies and business associations is certainly consistent. And why not? It's worked for at least 15 years. I'd wager his claimed MBA from Wharton is fake too. Probably even his Berkeley undergrad degree.

[Dems_R_Losers]

I hope Ed Rendell goes down for continuing to defend this slimebag. At the very least he has probably blown his chance to be Hillary’s running mate.

[PGalt]

Thanks for all of your posts and articles JH2.

Run Hillary Run!

[Rocky]

You have the right name to be following this story.

[PGalt]

OUTSTANDING FReeper comments BUMP!

[nathanbedford]

Justice Department Opens Investigation Of Hsu
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1889909/posts

[joebuck]

"Mr. Hsu, who has been leading a life of exemplary conduct for the last 15 years.”

Wrong. Every single day he woke up as a felon fugitive from justice he committed a crime. Perhaps the worst crime because it manifested a mindset that he was above punishment for ANY crime. Fugitives are dangerous people.

[PGalt]

Thanks very much for the link. Just got home from work. Read all 110 posts on the thread. GRRRREAT news!