Hsu More Bagmen

Just when you think you've completed your list of questions relating to Norman Hsu, more questions appear - in the form of still more bagmen who collected money for Hillary's campaign. One is a fluke, two is a pattern, and three - well, it's a sign that someone really wants to collect money. Still more HillRaisers are showing signs of engaging in potentially illicit acts in bundling money.

Then again, some of the names appearing in the Hsu-nami should be familiar to those who saw something similar surrounding the Clinton campaigns during the 1990s although the issue of crooked bagmen isn't solely a concern for Democrats (even as they're the overwhelming majority in this growing scandal):

A list of the donors who have "bundled" large sums from dozens of individuals to give to Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign includes several figures who were involved in the 1990s Democratic Party fundraising scandal that tarnished her husband's record.

Among them is an Oklahoma oilman who testified in the mid-1990s that the firm he worked for, owned by Democratic fundraisers, sought to curry favor with Bill Clinton's administration by providing payments and a golf club membership to a Cabinet secretary's son.

Democrat John Edwards's list of bundlers includes well-known fellow trial lawyer William S. Lerach, who raised $80,000 from his family and law firm partners for the candidate after a government probe had begun of Lerach's wrongdoing, campaign aides confirmed yesterday. Lerach pleaded guilty this week to a conspiracy charge, prompting Edwards to announce that he will give back Lerach's personal donations but not the money Lerach raised from others.

A close look at donors who have collected large sums from hundreds of people to give to the presidential candidates makes it clear that Norman Hsu, the convicted thief who attracted attention last month for donating $850,000 to Hillary Clinton, is far from the only controversial figure to play a major fundraising role in campaigns.

Republican Mitt Romney's list of bundlers until recently included Alan Fabian, who was charged in a 23-count indictment last month alleging mail fraud, money laundering, bankruptcy fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore. Fabian's lawyer, David B. Irwin, has declined to comment about the merits of the case but told The Post last month: "We are hoping for an early resolution of the matter."

Hsu's now facing criminal charges in New York for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of $60 million.

That still doesn't address how he managed to get the money donated to the various campaigns in the first place in his own name, let alone those that he bundled. Hsu was apparently skillful enough to con some pretty important people who should have engaged in due diligence to determine if he was reputable or not, though I have to wonder about just how much due diligence was done. I think my theory that he maintained a large bank account to portray himself as a successful businessman was part of the charade to show that he was legitimate, even if the money was all from shady interests.

Meanwhile, Hillary's campaign isn't exactly returning the money bundled by Hsu all that quickly. Flip has the details.

UPDATE:
Has Hsu all but admitted to wrongdoing in the criminal complaint filed against him? It may be just that as Flip has the highlights. Also, Hot Air points out what Hsu had on him when he was arrested after falling ill on that Amtrak train in Colorado.

During the search of the Evidence, I recovered the following items from the locked suitcase in the possession of NORMAN HSU, the defendant, at the time of his arrest: (1) HSU’s passport; (2) approximately $7,000 in cash; (3) checkbooks for bank accounts used by HSU to carry out his fraudulent scheme; (4) hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of checks from HSU’s victims; (5) bank receipts reflecting millions of dollars worth of financial transactions conducted by HSU; (6) hand-written ledgers reflecting specific amounts of campaign contributions to be made by specific victims on behalf of various candidates for Federal Office; (7) Federal Express shipping labels for materials sent by HSU via overnight mail from Components Ltd. in New York, New York; a Cartier watch and Tiffany jewelry; and (8) receipts reflecting HSU’s travel throughout the United States via a corporate jet service.

So much for the claim that Hsu had no idea where his passport was. It was on him when he was arrested, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from his victims, and all manner of incriminating evidence.