Democratic Fundraiser Wrote Suicide Letter

Saga Of Norman Hsu Takes Strange Twist With Emergence Of Note To Legal Organization

(AP)  The saga of the scandal-plagued Democratic fundraiser with ties to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton took another strange twist after he mailed a suicide note last week to a legal organization.

A person who saw the letter said Thursday that the note from Hong Kong-born Norman Hsu explicitly stated that he "intended to commit suicide." The person declined to reveal the exact phrasing, but said it was not rambling in nature.

The individual spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The letter arrived at the New York offices of the Innocence Project as Hsu was in the midst of a bizarre legal odyssey stemming from a 1991 grand theft case. Hsu has been wanted as a fugitive for missing his sentencing in the case. He failed to show up for a bail hearing last week in California and was arrested at a Colorado hospital after being taken off an Amtrak train.

Hsu was a leading money "bundler" for Clinton, earning the title of HillRaiser for his efforts. Her campaign is returning $850,000 in contributions linked to Hsu.

In custody in Colorado, Hsu was expected to say Thursday whether he intends to fight extradition to California, where he faces sentencing in the 1991 case. A state court hearing was scheduled, with Hsu appearing via video from jail, which is standard procedure.

Hsu was booked into jail Wednesday night after being released from a hospital. Officials have declined to say why he was hospitalized but emphasized Thursday he was not under suicide watch in jail.

Innocence Project officials would not provide the specific details of the letter, but spokesman Eric Ferrero said a FedEx package arrived at the group's Manhattan office last Thursday. A receptionist gave the letter to the executive director, Madeline DeLone.

"We were all concerned for his safety. We knew we needed to try to reach him right away. We wanted to make sure he was safe," said Ferrero.

They tried Hsu's cell phone, but there was no answer and the voicemail was full.

Innocence Project officials then tried to reach Hsu's attorney and faxed a copy of the letter to the California attorney general's office, which is handling the case.

"We sent the letter to law enforcement in California in the event they could help him in time and also because they were handling an active case there involving him," said Ferrero.

The letter was one page, typewritten and signed by Hsu. It was sent overnight delivery.

Details of the letter were first reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

Hsu has been a benefactor of the Innocence Project, a legal group that helps prove prisoners' innocence through DNA testing.

"Norman Hsu has been a strong, committed supporter of ours for years. I believe he saw a report about our work and thought it was good work and worthy of supporting," Ferrero said.

[mommajommah]

can you say... vince foster????? i thought you could........

mister rogers

[realpatriot1]

lorinkundert,

It seems like the same happens to people who criticise Bush. Look at the soldiers who wrote that op-ed piece.Look at Joe Wilson & Valerie Plame. we know exactly what lengths the Bushies went to there.

[Krazcarl]

A man going to spend time in prison is allways depressed and thinks about the back door how is this newsworthy that''s right he gave some cash to politacians.

[lorinkundert]

It seems that when people associated with the Clintons does something that could hurt the Clintons, suicides and other accidents happen.

[iceman_1960]

RE: Post by OLD5HITA55 at 08:49 AM : Sep 14, 2007

The term "Chinaman" or "Chinamen" is derogatory and racist.

Chinese (singular or plural) is the term to be used.

Not long ago a Chinese woman author wrote a book titled "China Men" about people suffering from such ignorant stereotypes.

[iceman_1960]

I like this cool new format.

Hopefully they also have software in place to stop the criminal spamming that has been going on.

Last night some fool called "screen_name_" shut down the Bush speech Comments section completely by posting 30 pages of the same inane message.

That is a felony, folks, and people have gone to prison for a long time, who have done things like that,

[mcvett]

"Democratic Fundraiser Wrote Suicide Letter"

Yeah, same way Vince Foster wrote a "suicide note"

LOL

[iceman_1960]

"That chinaman was afraid that hed be dead anyhow because them Clintons have killed a lot of people before and he knowed it so he was going to do it his own self and all."
- Posted by OLD5HITA55 at 08:49 AM : Sep 14, 2007

That''s an old lie.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/bodycount.asp

[old5hita55]

That chinaman was afraid that hed be dead anyhow because them Clintons have killed a lot of people before and he knowed it so he was going to do it his own self and all.

[mbcsmith]

She''s already promised him a pardon, like her brother.

[mike71067]

"Democratic Fundraiser Wrote Suicide Letter"

I suppose I would want to commit suicide also, considering the sorry lot of Democrat losers now in control of Congress.

[xlib]

iceman-try and stay on task, this is about one of your own.

[xlib]

gunnerv-are you the guy from TH??

OH, downhill, spoken like a true clintonista. She will be proud and your loyalty will be rewarded. Now, lefty, say this guy gave all this money to high ranking Republicans, then what? What would you say?
Don''t any of you find it strange in the least bit that the smartest woman in the entire world can get duped like this? Can have such inept people working around and for her? Why, she even misplaced important documents that her guy committed suicide for.
And you want this poor, duped bimbo to lead the country?? And you call Bush dum.

[xlib]

Shades of vince foster! At least this "suicide note" was found BEFORE the deed and not a week later, typed up and in a desd drawer. Ever wonder why so many of the clintonista''s "died" or just left the country.
Say, if the madame gets in and the likes of pelosi, reid and murtha get her PO''D maybe she''ll make them go away.
This whole story is a hoot.
Another thing, how did this clown end up on an exclusive train?
Does this mean NY state won''t get the Woodstock memorial that hsu''s backer, rosamund wanted? Why, hill & chuckie backed it.

[gunnerv1]

jimbosouth- He''s now known as the "Goracle" as in Oracle

[gunnerv1]

Hillbilly had ought to commit suicide herself, but of course, this will get swept under the rug too, politics as usual.

[iceman_1960]

"Democratic Fundraiser Wrote Suicide Letter"

George W. Bush should write one.

[pwrslm]

Japanese honor states the servant should commit hari kiri (Seppuku) at the death of ones master (hillary) as a Bushido tradition.

We know this man had no honor, he was a thief, so suicide would be far from an honor for him, he is no Samari, he is no Warrior, he is a coward, a thief, and a liar.

According to the code, the only honor that comes from this one is his execution, not Seppuku, but the death by Zanmaken Ni-no-Tachi, the evil cutting sword, for the death of a demon from behind. Only a disgraced Samari may be executed by obligatory Seppuku, so both Hsu and his master can only be exectuted by the Zanmaken Ni-no-Tachi.

Only this would bring honor to America.

[obiwan234]

This *** is absolutely shameless. Anyone who would vote for her or O''Bama is a flat out idiot.

[downhill240]

There are animals of every color who want to get close to politicians. This creep takes the cake. I find it hard to fault Clinton for being duped into accepting money from a person who obviously didn''t show his true colors.
Her response to this revalation has been correct in every way. What more can she do but return the money now that she knows of his nefaroius affairs.
Of course the Republicans and the extremist Neo-Cons are going to jump all over this, so what''s new about that?!