posted on January 4, 2008 01:04:35 PM new
And the other Hsu drops.
Hsu Headed to Prison
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Disgraced political donor Norman Hsu was sentenced Friday to three years in prison after a judge rejected his bid to throw out a 16-year-old fraud conviction.
Hsu's lawyers had asked Judge Stephen Hall to dismiss his 1992 no-contest plea, arguing that Hsu's right to a speedy trial was violated because authorities were not actively pursuing him during his years as a fugitive. They could easily have arrested Hsu, his lawyers argued, at one of the fundraisers he hosted in California for prominent local politicians.
Hsu also faces federal fraud charges in New York.
His troubles began dogging Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other big-name Democrats last summer when news reports revealed he was a fugitive who fled the state before he was sentenced for the 1992 fraud conviction. He turned himself in on Aug. 31 _ then fled again.
He was recaptured in September in Colorado after he tried to kill himself by overdosing on drugs aboard an eastbound Amtrak train. Hsu has since been held without bail in a Redwood City jail.
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.George S. Patton
posted on January 4, 2008 08:08:25 PM new
Hsu's antics read better than fiction. Greed plays a prominent part. Hsu had it all, personable, talented, as an 18 year old immigrant, he received the best education. He could have become very successful through legitimate endeavors but he was greedy and always looked for the shorter route. Hard to feel sorry for the investors, he promised them guaranteed high, short term profits. their greed out weighed their better judgment to investigate his pyramid schemes more diligently. And the candidates who benefited from his donations - he was the angel who appeared on the horizon that could magically raise any amount they needed. He was so personable, they didn't need to check his background or dive very deeply into the source of the funding. How is donating the funds they received from him to charity going to make the bilked investors whole? The Republicans' scandals of closeted trysts in bathrooms may be more sordid, but this scandal can't be topped for intrigue.
