Posted on 09/13/2007 4:16:31 PM PDT by fight_truth_decay
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.
example, “Today Senator (R) from Utah, who is a member of the Republican party that has ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, signed a bill today to help young children....”
- Magically … suicide note attempts to implicate Clinton’s closest rival in the scandal.
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And the plot thickens ... and thickens ... and thickens.
In any case we have string of strange deaths of Clinton insiders with indirect links to China and Chinese interests. Brown, Foster, Ruff -- at the least.
Maybe with Hsu, we can pull out some of the dragon's teeth, and ground at least some of the webs of illicit Chinese influence in the US.
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