Fugitive Dem Donor Arrested in Colorado
Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who skipped town on $2 million bail for a felony theft conviction, is back in custody after federal authorities tracked him down in Colorado.
Hsu's failure to appear for a scheduled court hearing Wednesday wasn't his first disappearing act. The Hong Kong native spent 15 years on the lam from the 1991 theft conviction until he surrendered to authorities last week.
FBI agents arrested Hsu at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., late Thursday, said FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler, who declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the arrest, saying details were in a sealed complaint.
Jason Booth, a spokesman for Hsu, declined comment late Thursday, saying he had not been in contact with Hsu for several days.
Hsu had been due in court Wednesday to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted after he turned himself in. Instead, he failed to show up, and a judge issued a new arrest warrant for him.
California Attorney General spokesman Gareth Lacy said Hsu's lawyers told prosecutors Hsu arrived by charter jet at the Oakland airport about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday local time and then wasn't heard from again.
When it became apparent that Hsu had fled the state, California authorities sought the assistance of the FBI, whose agents arrested him Thursday night on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Schadler said.
Once he is returned to state custody, the federal charges will be dismissed, Schadler said.
It was unclear when Hsu would be returned to California, "depending on how long it takes for extradition proceedings to take place, but he will be," he said.
Mesa County sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said the sheriff's department and the Grand Junction Police Department assisted the FBI in the arrest, but declined to give any details. She referred questions to the FBI.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell became the latest of many Democratic politicians to return or donate to charity Hsu's election contributions.
Rendell had said last week he planned to keep nearly $40,000 of Hsu's money even though he was wanted for failing to appear for sentencing after pleading no contest to a felony charge of bilking investors out of $1 million.
"Though Norman is my friend, and remains so, his failure to appear casts a new light on his assertions regarding the original case," Rendell said in a statement before Hsu's arrest Thursday. "As a result, I will follow other elected officials and donate the money he contributed to me to charity."
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she plans to give to charity the $23,000 in donations she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
The growing flap over Hsu's contributions prompted Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd to release a statement Thursday vowing "to refuse to accept or possess campaign contributions raised, solicited, or delivered by fugitives from justice."
Hsu has said he believed he had resolved his legal issues, but that he would halt his work raising political money.
Prosecutors say Hsu bilked investors out of $1 million by telling them he had a contract to buy and sell latex gloves, but he never purchased the gloves and had no contract to sell them.
He pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft and was facing up to three years in prison, but he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date. Investigators believed he'd fled to Hong Kong.
Years later, he resurfaced as a top fundraiser, donating $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Though a top fundraiser for Clinton, he also donated to presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama's political action committee.
Other Democrats who divested their campaigns of Hsu's money include California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as Al Franken, a Senate candidate in Minnesota, Reps. Michael Honda and Doris Matsui of California and Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Hsu's failure to appear for a scheduled court hearing Wednesday wasn't his first disappearing act. The Hong Kong native spent 15 years on the lam from the 1991 theft conviction until he surrendered to authorities last week.
FBI agents arrested Hsu at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., late Thursday, said FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler, who declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the arrest, saying details were in a sealed complaint.
Jason Booth, a spokesman for Hsu, declined comment late Thursday, saying he had not been in contact with Hsu for several days.
Hsu had been due in court Wednesday to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted after he turned himself in. Instead, he failed to show up, and a judge issued a new arrest warrant for him.
California Attorney General spokesman Gareth Lacy said Hsu's lawyers told prosecutors Hsu arrived by charter jet at the Oakland airport about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday local time and then wasn't heard from again.
When it became apparent that Hsu had fled the state, California authorities sought the assistance of the FBI, whose agents arrested him Thursday night on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Schadler said.
Once he is returned to state custody, the federal charges will be dismissed, Schadler said.
It was unclear when Hsu would be returned to California, "depending on how long it takes for extradition proceedings to take place, but he will be," he said.
Mesa County sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said the sheriff's department and the Grand Junction Police Department assisted the FBI in the arrest, but declined to give any details. She referred questions to the FBI.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell became the latest of many Democratic politicians to return or donate to charity Hsu's election contributions.
Rendell had said last week he planned to keep nearly $40,000 of Hsu's money even though he was wanted for failing to appear for sentencing after pleading no contest to a felony charge of bilking investors out of $1 million.
"Though Norman is my friend, and remains so, his failure to appear casts a new light on his assertions regarding the original case," Rendell said in a statement before Hsu's arrest Thursday. "As a result, I will follow other elected officials and donate the money he contributed to me to charity."
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she plans to give to charity the $23,000 in donations she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
The growing flap over Hsu's contributions prompted Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd to release a statement Thursday vowing "to refuse to accept or possess campaign contributions raised, solicited, or delivered by fugitives from justice."
Hsu has said he believed he had resolved his legal issues, but that he would halt his work raising political money.
Prosecutors say Hsu bilked investors out of $1 million by telling them he had a contract to buy and sell latex gloves, but he never purchased the gloves and had no contract to sell them.
He pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft and was facing up to three years in prison, but he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date. Investigators believed he'd fled to Hong Kong.
Years later, he resurfaced as a top fundraiser, donating $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Though a top fundraiser for Clinton, he also donated to presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's Senate campaign in 2004 and to Obama's political action committee.
Other Democrats who divested their campaigns of Hsu's money include California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as Al Franken, a Senate candidate in Minnesota, Reps. Michael Honda and Doris Matsui of California and Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania.
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It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it. Robert E. Lee
A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war. Simone Weil
If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. Thomas Paine
Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Winston Churchill
One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Ben Franklin
We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle
It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. John F. Kennedy
There''s a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn''t a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature. Barbara Kingsolver
They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war -- as though the absence of war was the same as peace. Dorothy Thompson
There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy. George Washington
I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. John Adams
non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
Change the party donations and it reads "Romney Donor/Fugitive Arrested in Colorado"...
More or less figured he would be "found" the
same way Vince Foster was "found"
...
dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone....
gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses.....
What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad
Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam..... he killed plenty of them....
In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:
The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
Latest approval rateings - Bush................32%
Dem controlled Congress - ................22%
I doubt that Chris Dodd recent enlightment & statement will move that up much.
Rendell had said last week he planned to keep nearly $40,000 of Hsu''s money.
Rendell said in a statement before Hsu''s arrest Thursday. "As a result, I will follow other elected officials and donate the money he contributed to me to charity."
In other words - Groups that we can channel this to that have been known to support our Agenda. You see that''s not going to slow the Clinton Express down any. But its a bit embaraassing now that Hillary Rodent knows I received more. We have to concentrate on Real ethics reform instead on shutting out the non-profit Grassroots Groups of the American People.
Edwards Proposing Anti-Terrorism Agency
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070907/D8RGM0R00.html
Unless he stood before a judge and had his case closed, he knew he was wanted and so did the Democrats that took his money.