Torricelli Denies Taking Illegal Gifts From Felon
Newark, New Jersey, April 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Robert G. Torricelli denied accepting illegal gifts and cash from a convicted felon and insisted he never betrayed the public trust.
Torricelli assailed a New York Times report that David Chang, who admitted funneling $53,700 to Torricelli's 1996 campaign, told investigators that he gave the New Jersey Democrat tens of thousands of dollars in cash, 10 Italian-made suits, an $8,100 Rolex watch, a 52-inch television and other gifts.
Chang, a former commodities trader, is one of seven donors who has admitted illegally contributing to Torricelli's campaign and is cooperating with a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the senator's personal finances and 1996 campaign fund-raising.
``I do not have words to describe how angry I am at the circumstances in which I find myself,'' Torricelli said at a news conference. ``I recognize that American politics has become a blood sport. Anything goes, and it's a rough business. But recent events regarding the campaign finance investigation are now totally out of control.''
`Never'
``These issues of illegal activities are not only false, but unbelievable,'' he added. ``I have never, ever done anything at any time to betray the trust of the people of the state of New Jersey.''
Torricelli then shouted ``Never'' and slammed the podium with an open palm.
Torricelli's six-minute statement offered his most detailed denunciation of Chang, an ex-friend who had lobbied him for help in recovering $71 million from the North Korean government for a shipment of grain in the early 1990s.
Chang was indicted in January 2000 on charges of obstructing a campaign fund-raising grand jury in Newark, shredding documents and encouraging witnesses to lie. Prosecutors filed court papers that said he lied about his marriages, date of birth, passports and other personal details.
After Chang pleaded guilty in June 2000 to the campaign finance violations and coaching a grand jury witness to lie, he began detailing his knowledge of Torricelli to investigators. The other donors who pleaded guilty also are cooperating, and three Torricelli aides have been told they may be indicted.
The New York Times reported this month that Chang, a resident of Cresskill, New Jersey, had told investigators he tried to help Torricelli buy a Mercedes Benz car.
The newspaper reported today that Chang told investigators he delivered $25,000 in cash to Torricelli's house in Englewood, New Jersey, in late 1996. The Times said an aide to Chang who also pleaded guilty, Audrey Yu, corroborated that account and said she delivered another $10,000 in cash in January 1997 to the senator.
Chang also told investigators he bought suits for Torricelli, earrings for the senator's former girlfriend, Judy D. Balaban, and a Rolex watch that he gave the senator at a 1998 dinner, the Times reported. Torricelli said on a NBC television broadcast Sunday that investigators had searched his house.
`Get Out of Jail'
``I want to make this clear: My reputation is not David Chang's opportunity to get out of jail free,'' Torricelli said at his news conference today. ``To challenge my integrity based on the claims of David Chang is beneath contempt. I do not deserve this treatment, and I will fight for my reputation with every ounce of strength in my body.''
Torricelli called on the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan to end the investigation, which has been running for three years now. He also called Chang ``every elected official's worst nightmare.''
``To have my integrity challenged by someone who is unknown, with no credibility, and to have that person taken seriously, is unconscionable,'' he said. ``The people of the New Jersey deserve to have this matter concluded, so we can all proceed with the public business.''
Torricelli delivered his statement at a downtown Newark office building and declined to answer questions from three dozen reporters.
Apr/18/2001 18:26 ET
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