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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (22699)	9/13/2007 1:51:34 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71588

Team Clinton can't explain ignoring warnings on Hsu BY JAMES GORDON MEEK and MICHAEL McAULIFF DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, September 12th 2007, 4:00 AM WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton's campaign couldn't explain yesterday why it blew off warnings about felon-turned-fund-raiser Norman Hsu - and the Daily News learned FBI agents are collecting e-mail evidence in the widening scandal. Clinton was forced Monday to give back a whopping $850,000 raised by convicted scam artist Hsu after learning his investment ventures were being probed by the FBI as a potential Ponzi scheme. She earlier gave to charity $23,000 Hsu donated himself after reports revealed he fled sentencing for a $1 million scam in California in 1992. Yesterday, the campaign insisted it did all it should to vet Hsu after California businessman Jack Cassidy warned in June that Hsu's investment operation was fishy. Cassidy e-mailed his tips to the California Democratic Party, which forwarded them to the Clinton campaign. Cassidy did not want to talk about the case, saying he doesn't want to jeopardize the FBI's efforts. But he wants Hsu prosecuted. He told The News that Hsu was a reverse Robin Hood - "a hood robbin' the poor to give to the rich." His warning "prompted a search of publicly available information, which did not reveal Mr. Hsu's decade-plus-old warrant," said Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson. He would not say why the campaign didn't follow up on specifics Cassidy included to explain his suspicions. "They knew [about Hsu], and they knew back in June," a source told The News. Cassidy raised a red flag after a friend came to him with a tale of being offered 64% annual returns by Hsu. "It was either predatory lending or a Ponzi scheme," the source said, adding that the FBI had interviewed Cassidy and took as evidence numerous e-mails he sent to political officials about Hsu. Camp Clinton never responded to Cassidy, but dealt with the worried California party members. According to the Los Angeles Times, Clinton's Western finance director, Samantha Wolf, e-mailed, "I can tell you with 100% certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a Ponzi scheme," adding, "He is COMPLETELY legit." Wolf no longer works for the campaign. Wolfson declined to explain her departure. He also refused to discuss how Hsu insinuated himself into Clinton's good graces, to identify who was his primary contact or explain how the campaign handled him. Hsu-raised cash also went to Clinton's Senate campaign and political action committee. Wolfson said the '08 campaign was working on what to do about that. With the scandal growing, other Democrats who feasted off Hsu's collection plate - including Clinton rival Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Chuck Schumer's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - were trying to decide whether they should give back cash he "bundled." Hsu's motives remain unclear. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said Hsu got no favors from the senator. "The Senate office had no official contact with him, and undertook no actions on his behalf," he said. The case has now attracted some Clinton enemies, who plan to dig deeper. Longtime Clinton foe Judicial Watch signaled it will join G-men and journalists on Hsu's trail and try to pressure the Justice Department and Senate Ethics Committee to take action. "Were they knowingly benefiting from illegal straw donor contributions? Were they put on notice?" asked Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group. jmeek@nydailynews.com With Kerry Burke and Brian Harmon nydailynews.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (22699)	9/14/2007 11:56:19 AM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 71588

He gets bail AGAIN???? Disgraced fundraiser Hsu's bail set at $5 million this time John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, September 14, 2007 Printable Version Email This Article delicious del.icio.us digg Digg technorati Technorati reddit Reddit slashdot Slashdot fark Fark newsvine Newsvine google Google Bookmarks (41) Georgia (default) Verdana Times New Roman Arial Norman Hsu appears on a video monitor during his bond hea... 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. sfgate.com