Hsu associates touted his connections...turned his Clinton ties into gold.

[jefferson_dem]

Hsu associates touted his connections

Documents show how the fundraiser's network pitched the deals that allegedly turned his Clinton ties into gold.

By Robin Fields and Chuck Neubauer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

December 3, 2007

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu reveled in his role as friend to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

As Hsu raised more than $800,000 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, the couple praised him at star-studded events and showered him with thank-you notes. Hsu often wore a bomber jacket that bore the presidential seal, a gift from the former president, he told associates.

But Hsu's turn in the political limelight was about more than ego gratification.

Documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times show how Hsu's business associates traded on his connections -- going so far as to claim that former President Clinton was a Hsu client -- to lure investors into a scheme that took in tens of millions of dollars nationwide.

A marketing brochure distributed by an Orange County firm to attract investors to Hsu's business claimed the 56-year-old Hong Kong native's "extensive political investment community includes former President Bill Clinton, who continues to invest to this day."

Howard Wolfson, a Clinton spokesman, denied that the former president had invested with Hsu. And Sen. Clinton's financial disclosure statements show no investments or income from Hsu for her or her husband.

Still, as a marketing tactic, the claim may have worked all too well: A Southern California couple recently filed a lawsuit saying they lost more than $3 million in a Hsu-run Ponzi scheme -- based in part on the brochure's promises.

In September, federal prosecutors charged Hsu, saying he defrauded investors out of $60 million and violated federal election laws for reimbursing political donors for contributions made in their names.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hsu3dec03,1,6308602.story?coll=la-headlines-business

[Atman]

1. Of course, we'll here the righties jumping all over this...

...while continuing to completely ignore Bush's crony appointments and no-bid contracts to his friends. It's only bad if a Democrat does it.

.

[karynnj]

3. It's bad if anyone does it

[ccpup]

2. I once had someone bragging left

and right about knowing me and being able to do business with me anytime he wanted. Needless to say, I had met him a couple of times, had hooked him up with a man of similar business goals to see if they could work together on a project (they couldn't), but had never worked with him, supported him or even really befriended him. None of that stopped him from bragging that he was tight with me.

So, the most important sentence in what you offered is: "And Sen. Clinton's financial disclosure statements show no investments or income from Hsu for her or her husband."