Clinton Friend Is Indicted in Donation Probe

In the first indictment stemming from the federal investigation into fund-raising practices during the 1996 political campaign, a federal grand jury Wednesday brought charges against Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie, a longtime friend of President Clinton and a major Democratic fund-raiser, according to government sources.

Trie was indicted on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and election code violations, the sources said.

The official filing of the indictment, which also named as a defendant Antonio Pan, a California-based businessman and Trie associate, was delayed until today when a federal magistrate balked at the government’s effort to have the charges sealed. The government sought to seal the indictment so that an effort could be made to apprehend the two men without alerting them that they had been charged.

The specific number of counts and penalties faced by the two, if convicted, could not be learned. However, investigators are known to have alleged that Trie collected money from foreign businessmen not eligible to contribute to U.S. political campaigns, and then arranged to have the money distributed to U.S. citizens, who made the contributions.

Trie, a former Little Rock, Ark., restaurateur who followed Clinton to Washington to set up an international business consulting firm, is believed to be living in Asia. Pan is also believed to be living overseas.

Trie’s lawyer, Reid H. Weingarten, did not return calls left at his home and office.

Justice Department spokesman Bert Brandenburg declined comment on the grand jury action.

The Justice Department’s criminal investigation of campaign finance practices has been operating in Washington and Los Angeles with more than 120 lawyers, law enforcement agents and support personnel.

Grand juries here and in Los Angeles are expected to issue more indictments in the fund-raising controversy over the next month.

Between 1994 and 1996, Trie raised and solicited $645,000 for the Democratic National Committee and brought another $639,000 from disciples of a Taiwan-based Buddhist sect to Clinton’s legal defense fund, which was set up to help the president pay legal costs as a result of the federal Whitewater investigation.

The contributions were returned by the DNC and the defense fund after questions about the money’s legality and propriety arose.

In the summer of 1996, Pan allegedly carried out a money-laundering scheme by giving nearly $80,000 in cash to Asian Americans in the greater Los Angeles area in return for their personal checks made out to “DNC,” according to records and testimony obtained by congressional investigators.

Records show that the $80,000 originated in a Bank of China account of a Macao-based businessman. On Aug. 7, 1996, the money was wired to an account held by Trie at the Riggs National Bank in Washington.

The money then was allegedly transferred on Aug. 15 to the American International Bank in Alhambra, where Pan then collected $60,000 in $100 bills and $20,000 in $50 bills.

The money soon was converted into donations, with personal checks in $5,000 and $10,000 amounts being sent to DNC headquarters for the campaign.

By reconstructing Pan’s travels and telephone calls, Senate and House investigators identified at least seven Asian American donors who wrote large checks to the DNC between Aug. 15 and Aug. 18.

None of the seven donors had given money to the DNC before, and none attended the Aug. 18 event to which they were supposedly contributing--a celebration of Clinton’s 50th birthday at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

In addition to Trie, Pan was an associate of Democratic fund-raiser John Huang, whose move from the Commerce Department to the DNC had been facilitated by Clinton. Huang is under investigation by the campaign finance task force.

Both Pan and Huang were former executives of the Indonesia-based Lippo Group, whose owners, the Riady family, were longtime supporters of Clinton.

Clinton affectionately recalled his long acquaintance with Trie at a May 13, 1995, fund-raising dinner for Asian American donors that was captured on a White House videotape. During his welcoming remarks--”To those of you here and those who have come from other countries to be with us tonight”--a smiling Clinton turned to Trie and said: “It’s been 20 years since I had my first meal with Charlie Trie. At the time, neither one of us could afford a ticket to this dinner.”