Hillary's fundraiser

The corruption of the Clinton administration continues in the Democratic Party. Running the most open campaign, Hillary got $850,000 from this slime. Notice at the end of the article where the San Francisco Chronicle buried the article. One more slanted newspaper.

Disgraced fundraiser Hsu's bail set at $5 million this time

John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, September 14, 2007

Norman Hsu, the disgraced Democratic fundraiser in custody after jumping his $2 million bail in San Mateo County last week, will be spending an additional week in a Colorado jail - unless he comes up with another $5 million.

"Two million wasn't enough to keep Mr. Hsu from running," County Court Judge Bruce Raaum said Thursday at a hearing in Grand Junction, Colo. "Let's see if $5 million will do it."

Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger had asked for $50 million bail, warning that Hsu is an obvious flight risk. Hsu skipped a San Mateo County court hearing last week on a grand theft conviction from the early 1990s, forfeiting his $2 million bail, and boarded an eastbound Amtrak train in Emeryville.

Hsu, 56, was taken off the train in Grand Junction after passengers reported he was behaving erratically and walking around without shirt or shoes.

Hautzinger also mentioned a purported suicide note Hsu sent last week to friends and charities he had supported, saying it showed that the businessman was "despondent and may hurt himself" if he is let out on bail.

A spokesman for Hsu confirmed the existence of the note, but declined to comment on the contents.

One copy of the note was sent by FedEx to the Manhattan office of the Innocence Project, an organization that uses DNA testing in an effort to free wrongly convicted people. Hsu was a financial supporter of the group.

A spokesman for the project declined to talk about the letter, which was passed on to Hsu's attorneys. Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for the California attorney general's office, which is handling Hsu's prosecution, confirmed that the office has received a copy of Hsu's letter, but would not comment further.

Hsu was not in the courtroom for Thursday's hearing, but appeared via a video link from the Grand Junction jail.

Hsu's attorney said the New York City businessman is eager to waive extradition and return to California, where he could face a three-year prison sentence in the grand theft case. The judge set his formal extradition hearing for Wednesday.

Of course, if Hsu does come up with the $5 million bail, he could walk out of the jail at any time with only a promise to show up at the hearing. He has had difficulty keeping such promises in the past.

After pleading no contest in a 1991 case in which he defrauded investors in what prosecutors described as a "Ponzi-type" scheme, Hsu didn't show up in Redwood City for his 1992 sentencing, reportedly fleeing to his native Hong Kong.

He returned to the United States several years later, went back into the clothing business and took up a highly visible role as one of the nation's leading Democratic fundraisers. Since writing a $2,000 check to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in 2003, Hsu has sent more than $600,000 to Democratic causes and candidates across the country.

He also funneled contributions from friends and business associates to party efforts, including more than $850,000 to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign. After concerns arose that Hsu may have illegally reimbursed those donors for their contributions, Clinton decided to return the money that the businessman raised for her campaign.

Hsu turned himself in to face proceedings in the grand theft case Aug. 31, made bail and sought to have it lowered to $1 million, but failed to appear at a Sept. 5 hearing on the matter in Redwood City.

Once Hsu signs an extradition waiver in front of a judge, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies will head to Colorado to bring Hsu back, a process that can take up to seven days, said Lt. Lisa Williams, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

E-mail John Wildermuth at jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle

One more reason I keep saying...

DON'T RE-ELECT ENCUMBENTS!