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Politics

Steep bail ordered for Democratic fundraiser

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - A judge ordered a cash bail of $5-million for Norman Hsu, the shadowy Democratic fundraiser, after Colorado authorities told the court that Hsu might have been involved in another multimillion-dollar defrauding scheme involving dozens of investors in Orange County, Calif.

The revelation that Hsu might be implicated in another fraud investigation comes after New York investors were notified this week that $40-million they had invested with Hsu might be in jeopardy.

At the bail hearing, Hsu's attorney, Eric Elliff, said he was willing to waive extradition and will likely be brought back to California after a formal hearing set for Sept. 19.

Appearing via television from the Mesa County Jail, Hsu, 56, looked haggard, his gaunt frame draped in yellow jail garb, and his head twitching as lawyers debated his bail and a recent letter Hsu sent to others in which he suggested he might harm himself.

"That's a lot of cash for anyone to come up with," Elliff said, when asked whether Hsu would be able to come up with the money.

The bail hearing marked another bizarre twist for Hsu, a leading campaign contributor for numerous Democratic politicians including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has since returned $850,000 in contributions tied to him.

[Last modified September 14, 2007, 00:29:13]