Dems Fund-Raiser Hsia Found Guilty
By Pete Yost
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, March 2, 2000; 12:10 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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000302/aponline121006_000.htm