Grand Junction – Fugitive Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu is scheduled to be returned to California today to face 15-year-old fraud charges after waiving extradition in a Mesa County courtroom Wednesday.
Hsu, 56, appeared disheveled and jumpy when he stood before Mesa District Judge Brian Flynn in chains and a yellow prison outfit to say he understood his rights and was thinking clearly as he made his decision to be returned to San Mateo County, Calif.
The journey that landed Hsu in a Mesa County courtroom began when he failed to appear for a court hearing Sept. 5 in San Mateo County.
He had spent 15 years on the lam after a theft conviction but was recognized after becoming a high-profile fundraiser for the Democrats.
Hsu boarded an Amtrak train the morning of his hearing and was hospitalized in Grand Junction the next day when other passengers reported he was acting erratically. He was hospitalized six days for an unspecified illness and jailed upon his release.
Jason Booth, a friend of Hsu’s and a spokesman for the San Francisco law firm representing him, would not comment on an Associated Press story that reported Hsu was disoriented and ill and got on the Amtrak train thinking he was boarding San Francisco’s rapid-transit system.
Hsu bought an economy ticket on Amtrak that included a sleeping berth.
Hsu was a leading fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates.
