What Made Norman Hsu Run?
He charmed friends, investors and politicians. But behind lurked failures, a kidnapping and lawsuits
By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN in New York, JONATHAN CHENG in Hong Kong and BRODY MULLINS in Washington
September 8, 2007; Page A1
At a New York restaurant overlooking Central Park in April 2006, the governor of Pennsylvania sat down to dinner with about a dozen Democratic supporters. The 10-course meal in a private room at Per Se, including dishes like Nova Scotia Lobster Tail "Cuite Sous Vide," cost about $18,000, says a diner who was there. The host, Norman Hsu, was a businessman that the crowd admired but knew little about.
In the past few weeks, much more has become known about Mr. Hsu: That he had filed for bankruptcy twice, including a time in 1990 when he said he had no income, no job, and little more than a Toyota 4-Runner and a jade ring. And that he was wanted by California authorities for grand theft charges to which he had pleaded no contest in 1992, then fled before facing sentencing.
Mr. Hsu turned himself in on that matter a week ago, after news coverage of his past -- which began with a Wall Street Journal article about his unusual campaign giving -- had brought the conviction to light and led politicians to hand over some of his campaign donations to charity. Mr. Hsu posted a $2 million bond -- and then he vanished again. On Wednesday, when he was supposed to appear in court in California, he instead boarded Amtrak's eastbound California Zephyr near Oakland. Along the trip he fell, was taken to a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., and arrested. On Friday, authorities were taking steps to send him to California.
Mr. Hsu's lawyer issued a brief statement Friday afternoon saying that "the strain [Mr. Hsu] has been under during the last week has been enormous and, perhaps, unbearable. We will be getting him the best medical care available." As for the charges Mr. Hsu left behind, the lawyer, James Brosnahan, said: "The legal matter pending in San Mateo Superior Court will be handled in its proper course."
Much about Mr. Hsu remains a mystery, most notably the source of the money for the donations that made him a favorite in Democratic circles. For years Mr. Hsu tapped a vein of fellow Asian-Americans, first to help seed startup businesses and lately to help feed his sudden passion for politics.
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