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Embattled Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu could be back in California within days should his extradition be approved by a Colorado judge Wednesday, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
Hsu’s extradition hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. in a Mesa County, Colo. courtroom.
Attorneys for Hsu, 56, indicated last week that he will not contest his extradition back to San Mateo County to be sentenced for his 1991 conviction for grand theft.
If Hsu accepts his extradition, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has between seven and 10 days to pick up Hsu in Colorado, sheriff’s Lt. Lisa Williams said. If extradition is challenged, the Sheriff’s Office would have to obtain a warrant from the governor’s office to return Hsu to California, Williams said.
Williams declined to discuss the mode of transportation the Sheriff’s Office would use to return Hsu to San Mateo County.
Hsu failed to show up for his sentencing hearing in 1992, but after finally turning himself in to authorities in Redwood City on Aug. 31, he posted $2 million cash bail and then skipped out on a Sept. 5 court hearing.
The next day, Hsu was found ill on an eastbound train from Emeryville and was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. Hospital officials refused to discuss his condition.
His lawyer said Hsu had been under “enormous, and perhaps, unbearable” strain. He was released from the hospital on Sept. 12.
Hsu is thought to have contributed at least $260,000 to the Democratic Party, most since 2004, and reportedly raised larger sums by bundling contributions from other donors.
Recipients included U.S. senators Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Barack Obama, D-Ill., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
Last week, Clinton’s presidential campaign spokesman announced the campaign would return about $850,000 in contributions raised by Hsu from some 260 donors, and promised to conduct criminal background checks on future fundraisers.
Hsu’s Wednesday court appearance is scheduled for 10 a.m. Mountain Time in the courtroom of Judge Brian Flynn, County and District Court of Mesa County, 125 N. Spruce St., Grand Junction, Colo. His bail is currently set at $5 million.
