-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Dems Fund-Raiser Hsia Found Guilty By Pete Yost Associated Press Writer Thursday, March 2, 2000; 12:19 p.m. EST WASHINGTON –– A federal jury today found former Democratic fund-raiser Maria Hsia guilty of arranging more than $100,000 in illegal contributions during the 1996 presidential campaign. Prosecutors alleged that Hsia, a Los Angeles immigration consultant, tapped a Buddhist temple and some of her well-to-do business clients for money to reimburse straw donors or "conduits" who were listed as the contributors on federal election reports. Hsia was charged with five felony counts of causing false statements to be filed with the Federal Election Commission regarding fund raising at the Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington and the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Prosecutors presented evidence that a total of $109,000 in reimbursed donations went to Clinton-Gore '96, the Democratic Party and the campaign of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. Hsia, who began raising money for Vice President Al Gore more than a decade ago, showed no emotion as the U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman read the verdict. Testimony in the three-week trial revolved around an April 29, 1996, fund-raiser that Gore attended at the Buddhist temple. Prosecutors said Hsia helped arrange $65,000 in illegal reimbursements to donors, using temple funds. When controversy erupted after the event about illegal reimbursements to some of the contributors, the vice president said he hadn't known he was attending a fund-raiser, that he thought it was community outreach. After documents turned up referring to the event in advance as a fund-raiser, Gore modified his characterization, saying he had thought it was a finance-related event. At the trial, former Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang, the central figure in the campaign fund-raising scandal, testified that Hsia handed him an envelope containing $100,000 the day after Gore attended the temple event. Most of the donations in the envelope were reimbursed by the temple. Hsia's lawyers pointed out there was no evidence that Hsia was aware of the reimbursements from the Gore fund-raiser, but prosecutors introduced canceled checks suggesting that on three instances from 1993 to 1996 Hsia used temple funds to reimburse her own political donations. Hsia did not testify at the trial, but her lawyers said the money was for public relations work Hsia had done for the temple. Hsia's lawyers said she thought the temple was gathering checks from its followers, many of them wealthy and eligible to contribute. Through Huang's testimony, prosecutors showed only $30,000 to $40,000 had been raised from the Gore temple event and that Hsia came up with the envelope containing an additional $100,000 less than 24 hours later. "Hsia had to have known what the temple was doing," prosecutor John McEnany said. Prosecutors also introduced copies of the reimbursed checks that were found in Hsia's office. Hsia's lawyers portrayed her as a community activist trying to involve Asian-Americans in the U.S. political process. Prosecutors depicted Hsia as a schemer trying to promote her immigration business through her political fund raising. Huang testified that Hsia recommended that she be seated next to Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner at a Democratic Party fund-raiser at the Hay-Adams Hotel attended by President Clinton on Feb. 19, 1996. Prosecutors introduced a photograph of Hsia standing next to Meissner at the event. Huang said Hsia handed him $25,000 in checks that were reimbursed by the temple. Huang said he was unaware of the reimbursements. A Buddhist nun testified that Hsia had picked up some of the checks from the temple. Two of Hsia's immigration clients testified that at Hsia's direction, they bankrolled thousands of dollars in reimbursed donations for a fund-raiser that Clinton attended at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Hsia "wanted me to exchange some checks," testified one witness, a businesswoman recently arrived from China. The businesswoman was a foreign national and ineligible to contribute money to a U.S. election. Prosecutors presented evidence that the alleged reimbursement scheme extended to contributions for Kennedy's congressional campaign. Witnesses testified that Hsia got five blank checks from the Buddhist temple and reimbursed five donors, including herself, in connection with a temple fund-raiser that Kennedy attended. © Copyright 2000 The Associated Press ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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