Buddhist Temple May Be Indicted in Donor Probe

Federal prosecutors have notified defense lawyers that they intend to seek a criminal indictment against the Southern California Buddhist temple that hosted a 1996 political fund-raiser for Vice President Al Gore, accusing the religious center of violating campaign finance laws, it was learned Thursday.

Attorneys for Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights are expected over the weekend to make a last-ditch appeal to government investigators to spare the religious organization from felony charges, which could include conspiracy allegations, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

A criminal action against a religious institution, although not unprecedented, is highly unusual and appears to signal that the Justice Department is taking a hard line in its investigation of alleged campaign finance violations.

A indictment against the temple also threatens to compound the political embarrassment dogging Gore since questions first were raised during the 1996 presidential campaign about the propriety of using the nonprofit religious center as a venue for raising about $140,000 for the Democratic Party. It later was revealed that about $55,000 in donations from nuns and monks was improperly reimbursed by the temple.

Three temple nuns, granted immunity from prosecution by the Senate in exchange for testimony, have since cooperated with federal investigators looking into the role of longtime Democratic fund-raiser and temple devotee Maria Hsia. The Arcadia-based immigration consultant helped arrange Gore’s temple visit.

Hsia’s defense attorney Nancy Luque said her client “is saddened by the prospects of a temple indictment but convinced that she and the temple will be vindicated.”

Temple attorney Brian A. Sun would not comment except to complain about leaks. He blamed the Justice Department and said he was “deeply troubled and disappointed.”

Gore spokesman Christopher Lehane said a possible temple indictment does not affect the vice president because there is “no basis to suggest that the vice president was aware of or involved with any of the alleged misconduct at the temple event.”

He acknowledged, however, that Gore’s foes will no doubt seek to use any legal charges to inflict more political damage.

“It will come as no surprise to us if our partisan opponents continue to exploit this issue for political gain in the future,” Lehane said.

The government’s unexpected move against Hsi Lai Temple, which unlike the nuns did not receive any congressional immunity, came as the Justice Department made public details of the first criminal charges filed in connection with the campaign finance inquiry.

On Thursday, prosecutors released copies of the indictment against Yah Lin “Charlie” Trie, a longtime friend of President Clinton’s and a major Democratic fund-raiser; and against his associate, Yuan Pei “Antonio” Pan. They were charged with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud and election code violations.

Trie, 49, also was charged with conspiring to obstruct justice, witness tampering and obstructing the Senate investigation into campaign fund-raising.

“This is an important step forward in addressing campaign finance abuses associated with the 1996 election,” Atty. Gen. Janet Reno said in announcing the indictment.

While the 15-count indictment did not accuse Clinton or Gore of wrongdoing, both men are mentioned as passive players in several “overt acts” to further the conspiracy cited by the grand jury in the case.

For example, Overt Act No. 7 in the indictment notes that Trie and an unnamed business associate from Macao attended the Democratic National Committee Presidential Gala on June 22, 1994, in Washington and “Trie sat with the president of the United States.”

And Overt Act No. 36 notes that on Feb. 20, 1996, Trie, Pan and an unnamed business associate from Macao attended a “DNC breakfast meeting with the vice president of the United States” at a Washington hotel.

Such overt acts are related to an alleged conspiracy to buy high-level political access and use it to benefit the private business interests of Trie and Pan, according to the indictments.

The alleged conspiracy, which ran from April 1994 to September 1996, also involved channeling foreign money to the DNC through the use of “straw donors”; concealing the source of the money by reimbursing conduit donors in cash and using multiple bank accounts; and receiving benefits from the DNC, which the grand jury described as a victim of the conspiracy.

Lehane minimized the significance of references to Gore in Trie’s indictment.

Trie, a former Little Rock, Ark., restaurateur who followed Clinton to Washington, owned and operated two international trading companies and was associated with a third--all sharing offices in an apartment at the Watergate South complex in Washington.

Pan, 50, a Taiwanese national, began working for Trie in August 1995 after serving as senior vice president of Lippo Group-Chinese division. The Lippo Group’s owners are the Indonesia-based Riady family, longtime supporters of Clinton.

Trie and Pan, the indictment alleges, arranged for a series of straw or conduit contributions to the DNC, with donations made in the name of one person and then secretly reimbursed in cash by Trie or Pan. DNC policy and federal election laws banned foreign and conduit contributions, but Trie and Pan allegedly relied on secret reimbursement and false-reporting schemes to circumvent the rules.

Trie was credited with bringing over $600,000 to the DNC--much of it obtained from foreign sources or conduit contributions, the indictment says.

By raising the money, Trie was named a trustee of the Democratic Party, an award for major supporters. Such status provided various benefits, including access to White House officials, invitations to White House events, special White House tours, administrative assistance by the DNC and membership on DNC committees and related groups.

Pan and Trie used Trie’s status as a trustee and his access to high-level government officials to benefit their business interests, the indictment alleges.

The indictment does not identify the “high government” officials that Trie and Pan allegedly bought access to, and Justice Department officials declined to elaborate on the charges.

Both Trie and Pan are believed to be in China, and federal arrest warrants have been issued for them. Reno has asked China’s justice minister for cooperation in the investigation, but federal law enforcement sources said they believe that their best prospects for catching them will come if they travel outside China.

Sources familiar with the ongoing Justice Department investigation of campaign finance matters say decisions on the next round of indictments--reportedly involving the Hsi Lai Temple and Hsia--are expected to be made early next month, possibly as early as next week.

The temple, a California nonprofit corporation, could face a fine if convicted. No individuals or officials of the temple are believed to be included in the Justice Department notification.

Hsia attorney Luque said she believes that the government is threatening to indict the temple “because . . . the nuns [receiving immunity] were unwilling to implicate Maria [Hsia]” in a conspiracy.

The nuns have made a number of grand jury appearances, but their testimony remains secret.

Times staff writer Alan C. Miller contributed to this story.