Dem Fundraiser/Fugitive Hsu Skips Bail

UPDATE (Friday night): By now everyone is aware that Hsu's denouement was a pale imitation of either the Bourne movies or any of the hypotheses I offered below.
How pitiful, small, desperate and sad. A train. Colorado. A possible suicide attempt. Some stories end with a whimper that leaves one wondering what all the fuss was about and against one's previous impulses, pitying the former villain, if not his handlers and beneficiaries.

UPDATE 1:30PM: In light of this, I'm going with wild guess #1 below.

[Hsu's] San Francisco attorney -- who appeared at the hearing with another lawyer and two members of the Sitrick & Co. crisis public relations firm -- said his office had sent an employee to fetch Mr. Hsu's passport on Monday at the fund-raiser's condominium in New York City and couldn't find it after searching for 90 minutes.

Asked if he was angry, Mr. Brosnahan said he wasn't. "I have a client and I'm concerned about him," he said. As for their part, state prosecutors said there was little they could do now but wait to see whether Mr. Hsu turned up.

Which raises hypothesis #3 about Mr. Hsu's whereabouts: with Vince Foster... and the fishes.

UPDATE 1:20PM:

Hsu forfeits the $2 million bail he posted last week. Hsu's lawyer said he doesn't know where his client is. [emphasis added]

Wild Guess #1: on a 747 out of Vancouver, under an assumed name, bound for Shanghai
Wild Guess #2: his lawyer may not know, but someone on Team Clinton probably does

Musing question #1: Who would have the incentive, the will, the organization and the means (i.e., much more than $2M) to make Mr. Hsu and what he has to say/reveal... disappear?

Musing question #2: If I were writing the novel, this would be the point where Mark Rich came back into the storyline.

The WSJ has the longer story.

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ORIGINAL POST:

12:45PM - Breaking news off the WSJ site after a scheduled 12:00Noon (EDT) appearance time. What's $2 million anyway?

"Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu skips bail hearing; bench warrant issued."

The back story as of earlier this morning:

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu (SHOO) is due to appear before a judge in Redwood City this morning (9:00 AM PDT) as he tries to get his bail reduced.

Hsu was taken into custody Friday when he turned himself in after being a fugitive for more than 15 years.

His bail was set at $2 million, which he was able to post in about five hours.

Today the judge will consider Hsu's request to reduce the bail amount by half.

Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft, admitting he'd defrauded investors of $1 million in a bogus investment scam.

Prosecutors say he was facing up to three years in prison when he skipped town before being sentenced.

Hsu headed to New York, where he remade himself as a benefactor of Democratic causes and candidates.

Federal Election Commission records show Hsu donated $260,000 to Democratic parties and candidates since 2004, including presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

More back story here. I can't wait for the episode where DOG tracks down Hsu, Hillary & Obama.