Top Democratic Fundraiser Faces Grand Theft Charges (Pt. II)

Hsu says that he also gave to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Washington -- Sen. Sherrod Brown will donate to charity $1,500 from California contributors linked to a Democratic donor in the midst of a political fund-raising controversy, his office said Thursday.

The donations of $500 each from three individuals raised questions because of ties to Norman Hsu (pronounced "Shu"), a New York-based Democratic donor and "bundler" who uses his influence to get other wealthy individuals to donate. Hsu was to co-host a fund-raising event for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign next month, but she and other Democrats started distancing themselves from him after the Los Angeles Times reported this week that he was wanted on a warrant from a 1991 fraud case in California.

Clinton's campaign announced it would give $23,000 that Hsu donated for her Senate, presidential and political action committees to charity. Other Democratic politicians, including Barack Obama, another presidential aspirant, and John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, are also getting rid of Hsu contributions, their spokesmen said.

Brown's ties to Hsu appear to be minimal. But Hsu brought them to light by telling the Wall Street Journal in an e-mail that he donates to political candidates he believes in. He listed several, including Brown.

Federal Election Commission records examined by The Plain Dealer, however, show no evidence of Hsu donating to Brown. They do show donations from three people -- William and Vivian Paw and Stanley Lim -- with reported ties to Hsu. While it would be legal for Hsu to ask them to donate, it would violate federal law if he were the actual donor or reimbursed them for their donations.

The Wall Street Journal this week reported on ties between Hsu and the extended family of William Paw, a postal clerk who lives near the San Francisco airport. Hsu once listed the Paws' address as his own, and Paw family donations of $213,000 since 2004 closely tracked those given by Hsu, the Journal reported.

FEC records list William and Vivian Paw as donating $500 apiece to Brown's election campaign Oct. 31, and Stanley Lim -- who has used the Paws' address but whose exact relationship to the family could not be determined Thursday -- as donating $500 the same day. The phone number at the Paws' home was busy during repeated calls Thursday.

Hsu's attorney, Lawrence Barcella Jr., did not return calls or an e-mail seeking an explanation for why Hsu told the Wall Street Journal that he donated to Brown when no such donation appears to exist. But Barcella has told newspapers this week that Hsu did not provide money that the extended Paw family donated to various politicians.

Regardless, Brown decided Thursday to give half of the $1,500 to Jobs with Justice in Columbus and half to the Lorain Free Clinic.

"Neither the senator nor his campaign director knows Mr. Paw, Mrs. Paw, or Mr. Lim," said Brown spokeswoman Bethany Lesser. "In the last election cycle, Sen. Brown's campaign received more than 10,000 donations of $200 or more from a broad range of individuals.
"According to the FEC Web site, which only provides data from the past four years, Sen. Brown has not received any money from Norman Hsu. Given the questions that have surfaced, Sen. Brown will donate the Paw and Lim contributions to charity."

Wall Street Journal article