As word leaks out about how much of the Dem Party has been underwritten by the mysterious Mr. Hsu , one must ask how it is that California Dem officials had no idea he was under an arrest warrant when they took his contributions:

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took money from fugitive fundraiser Norman Hsu, the deep-pocketed Democrat who handed out more than $250,000 to Sen. Hillary Clinton and other party candidates and causes in the past few years.

According to state and local records, Hsu has given more than $53,000 to various political efforts in the state since 2004, including $27,600 to the state Democratic Party, $5,000 to 2006 gubernatorial hopeful Steve Westly and $10,000 to Hollywood director Rob Reiner's "Pre-School for All" campaign, which became Proposition 82 on the June 2006 ballot.

The state party gave $26,600 of that money back three weeks after Hsu donated it in 2004, said Bob Mulholland, a party consultant.

"Mr. Hsu asked for the money to be returned, saying he had made the donation in error," Mulholland said. "We haven't returned the $1,000 he gave us earlier this year, but the party will be looking at that contribution."

Besides giving the maximum $750 to Newsom's 2004 campaign, Hsu, a New York businessman, gave $750 to Harris' campaign for district attorney and then, in December 2006, gave Harris $500 more for her 2007 re-election campaign.

At the time he gave the money to San Francisco's district attorney, Hsu was wanted on a $2 million warrant issued when he didn't show up for sentencing after pleading no contest to San Mateo County felony grand theft charges in 1992.