Freddies Follies

One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton
is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San
Francisco International Airport.

Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave.
as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic
senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate
re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six
Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005,
election records show.

That total ranks the house with residences in Greenwich, Conn., and
Manhattan's Upper East Side among the top addresses to donate to the
Democratic presidential front-runner over the past two years, according to
an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of donations listed with the Federal
Election Commission.

It isn't obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political
largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot
house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the
64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal
Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative.
Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple's grown children have jobs
ranging from account manager at a software company to "attendance liaison"
at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an
executive at a mutual fund.

The Paws' political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a
wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw
home as his address, according to public records. Mr. Hsu is one of the top
fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign. He has hosted or
co-hosted some of her most prominent money-raising events.

People who answered the phone and the door at the Paws' residence declined
requests for comment last week. In an email last night, one of the Paws'
sons, Winkle, said he had sometimes been asked by Mr. Hsu to make
contributions, and sometimes he himself had asked family members to donate.
But he added: "I have been fortunate in my investments and all of my
contributions have been my money."

Mr. Hsu, in an email last night wrote: "I have NEVER asked a single favor
from any politician or any charity group. If I am NOT asking favors, why do
I have to cheat...I've asked friends and colleagues of mine to give money
out of their own pockets and sometimes they have agreed."

Lawrence Barcella, a Washington attorney representing Mr. Hsu, said in a
separate email: "You are barking up the wrong tree. There is no factual
support for this story and if Mr. Hsu's name was Smith or Jones, I don't
believe it would be a story." He didn't elaborate.

A Clinton campaign spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said in an email: "Norman Hsu
is a longtime and generous supporter of the Democratic party and its
candidates, including Senator Clinton. During Mr. Hsu's many years of active
participation in the political process, there has been no question about his
integrity or his commitment to playing by the rules, and we have absolutely
no reason to call his contributions into question."

Kent Cooper, a former disclosure official with the Federal Election
Commission, said the two-year pattern of donations justifies a probe of
possible violations of campaign-finance law, which forbid one person from
reimbursing another to make contributions.

"There are red lights all over this one," Mr. Cooper said.

There is no public record or indication Mr. Hsu reimbursed the Paw family
for their political contributions.