Norman Hsu was desperate for invitations to glitzy Democratic Party galas in California and private political dinners in New York. But once he got in, Mr. Hsu, a 56-year-old apparel executive, seemed awkward and out of place, almost astonished to be posing for pictures with former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and other big-name Democrats. Like the deep-pocketed gamblers who are the targets of Las Vegas casinos, Mr. Hsu was quickly recognized by dozens of Democratic campaigns as a soft-touch cash machine, and they tapped into his largess without investigating the source of his wealth. Mr. Hsu was so eager to please that he was racing to become the first person to raise $1 million in contributions for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, according to three Clinton supporters who said they were told by Mr. Hsu of his goal. He nearly accomplished it, raising an astonishing $850,000 from 260 people in just six months.
“There came a point in the campaign when he could walk on water,” said John A. Catsimatidis, a New York businessman and top Clinton fund-raiser. “He spent money, he never said no. Very young fund-raising staffers would say, ‘Norman, we need $50,000,’ and he’d say, ‘I’ll do it.’ ”
Although Mr. Hsu has given to numerous Democrats, none benefited more than Mrs. Clinton, and no candidate has more aggressively severed ties with Mr. Hsu. Last week, the Clinton campaign announced it would return the $850,000 raised by Mr. Hsu, the largest sum to be returned by a presidential campaign. The Clinton campaign says it will now examine the background of its big fund-raisers more closely. Several prominent Clinton donors who spent time with Mr. Hsu recall him as an indefatigable networker, willing to take on any fund-raising need even from low-level Clinton staff members.On a Superstar Track
Indeed, one senior adviser in the Clinton campaign said that Mr. Hsu aspired to and was on track to becoming “one of the break-out superstars of 2008 presidential fund-raising in both parties.” Despite his lofty goal, the Clinton campaign’s chairman, Terry McAuliffe, denied last week that he had pressed Mr. Hsu to raise ever larger sums for Senator Clinton. Still, Mr. Hsu was no stranger to Mr. McAuliffe; he was among the hundreds of people at Mr. McAuliffe’s home for a Clinton fund-raiser in July. |
