Another Crooked Wall Street Financier In Trouble

Another Crooked Wall Street Financier In Trouble

From May 7, 2009 Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — Former top Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to charges he cheated investors out of at least $20 million in a massive Ponzi scheme.
The 58-year-old Hsu (SHOO) pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire and mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.
"I knew what I was doing was illegal," Hsu told the judge.
His lawyer, Alan Seidler, said outside court afterwards that his client was likely to testify on his own behalf at a trial on four counts of violating federal campaign-finance laws. Hsu is accused of violating those laws by making hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to more than 50 politicians.
"He's like a groupie. He just likes the political process," Seidler said, adding that Hsu was adamant that he never made a political contribution expecting something in return. Prosecutors said he made contributions to political candidates in the names of others.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lemire told Marrero that the government will seek to prove that Hsu made political donations "to fuel" the Ponzi scheme and pressured victims of his fraud to contribute to political candidates.

... 

Seidler said Hsu considered Hillary Rodham Clinton his biggest prize among political candidates.
"That was his star," Seidler said of Clinton, who returned more than $800,000 to donors whose contributions were linked to Hsu.
Hsu was accused of raising more than $1.2 million for Clinton and other Democratic candidates. His donations became an embarrassment for Clinton's presidential campaign.

Why is that Democrats are always getting caught running Ponzi schemes? (Yes, I'm thinking of Bernie Madoff, among others.) Is it just that Democrats are weak on long-term thinking? Social Security, for example, is a type of well-run Ponzi scheme--but one of these days, it's going to take our whole economy down.