GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu remained in custody Friday at a Colorado hospital after his arrest for failing to show up for a California court appearance related to a felony theft conviction.
FBI agents arrested Hsu late Thursday at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, hours after Hsu arrived in the Western Slope city on board an Amtrak train.
Hsu had been scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate on unlawful flight charges, but FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler said at a news conference in San Francisco it was unlikely Hsu would be released from the hospital Friday. He said Hsu was being watched by guards.
Once Hsu appears before a magistrate, he would be transferred to federal district court in California, then released to San Mateo County officials to face the felony grand theft charge to which he pleaded no contest in 1992.
It wasn’t clear whether Hsu would fight extradition.
Hsu was listed in fair condition, hospital vice president Dan Prinster said. He declined to provide details of Hsu’s ailment.
An attorney for Hsu, James Brosnahan, said in a prepared statement that Hsu had been under “enormous” strain over the past week and that “the legal matter pending in San Mateo Superior Court will be handled in its proper course.”
Robert Emmers, a spokesman for Brosnahan, said he could provide no information about the case, including Hsu’s condition or when he might be released from the hospital.
FBI agents arrived at the hospital about 9 p.m. EDT Thursday, Prinster said, adding he didn’t know how authorities learned of Hsu’s whereabouts. “All I know is I got a call,” he said.
Hsu was traveling on an Amtrak train Thursday when he became ill. An ambulance was called when the train stopped in Grand Junction and he was taken to St. Mary’s.
Hsu had been scheduled to appear in a San Francisco court Wednesday to turn over his passport and ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted last week when he turned himself in after spending 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction.
Hsu failed to show up at the hearing, and a judge issued an arrest warrant for him.
When it became apparent that Hsu had fled the state, California authorities sought the assistance of the FBI, whose agents arrested him Thursday night on federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Schadler said.
Once Hsu is returned to state custody, the federal charges will be dismissed, Schadler said.
California Attorney General spokesman Gareth Lacy said Hsu’s lawyers told prosecutors Hsu arrived by charter jet at the Oakland, Calif., airport about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday EDT and then wasn’t heard from again.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said Hsu boarded a train which left nearby Emeryville, Calif., at 10:10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, 1.5 hours after landing in Oakland.
Hsu arrived in Grand Junction at 1:05 a.m. EDT Thursday. Black said Hsu had a ticket to Denver.
Federal officials did not say why Hsu would be heading to Denver.
Hsu, a Hong Kong native, had spent 15 years on the lam from the 1991 theft conviction until he surrendered to authorities last week.
Prosecutors say Hsu bilked investors out of $1 million by telling them he had a contract to buy and sell latex gloves, but he never purchased the gloves and had no contract to sell them.
He pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft and was facing up to three years in prison, but he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date. Investigators believed he’d fled to Hong Kong.
Hsu has said he believed he had resolved his legal issues, but that he would halt his work raising political money.
Years later, he resurfaced as a top fundraiser, donating $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records.
A string of Democratic politicians have announced plans in the past week to return or donate to charity Hsu’s election contributions. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Thursday he would donate nearly $40,000 in contributions, and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo. said Friday he donated a $1,000 contribution to a charity that helps soldiers.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she plans to give to charity $23,000 in donations she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
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Associated Press Writers P. Solomon Banda in Denver and Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.
