N.Y. Prosecutor Won’t Return Hsu Cash

The recently jailed fugitive Chinese businessman who raised nearly $1 million for Hillary Clintonâ??s presidential campaign also gave money to the Manhattan prosecutor investigating him for stealing from an investment fund.

Longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced recently that he is investigating whether top Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu used a financing scheme to steal $40 million from an investment fund founded by one of the organizers of the 1969 Woodstock rock festival.

New Yorkâ??s top prosecutor since 1975, Morgenthau is well-known for going after white-collar scams and over the years he has been quite successful. Morgenthau has already started raising money for his next district attorney campaign in 2009 and Hsu helped fill the coffers with a $2,000 donation.

To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, the renowned prosecutor said he has put the money in an escrow account pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. Even Hillary Clinton, who has proudly accepted cash from a Pakistani fugitive on the FBIâ??s Most Wanted list and a federally indicted oil tycoon, returned Hsuâ??s $850,000 donation rather than put it in some account for the future.

After all, the shady businessman was a fugitive from justice for 15 years during which he operated an illicit enterprise and donated hundreds of thousand of dollars to top Democrats. Hsu also exceeded federal contribution limits to Clintonâ??s campaign by funneling the money through friends and associates he later reimbursed.

It seems ironic that, considering Hsuâ??s history, New Yorkâ??s top prosecutor still accepts his tainted money. Even Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who initially refused to part with Hsuâ??s cash, recently reversed course and gave the $6,000 to charity.