I’d heard of fund-raising phone calls like these but hadn’t ever gotten one.

I believe that he said his name was Mike and that he was calling from some fraternal order of police. I’m certain that he wanted me to donate money.

When I said no—I don’t give any money over the telephone—he just kept talking. No matter how many times I repeated that I was not interested, he just went on and on about the numbers of police officers killed in New York state. Could I find it in my heart to give something, he kept repeating.

He was so rude and obnoxious that I finally asked for his name again and the name of his organization, at which he got louder and louder and finally hung up.

I’m not sure which fraternal order this caller was claiming to be from. But a quick search finds that a number of police groups have gotten tripped up over fund raising.

There was this from the New York Post last month:
“Caught helping itself to 9/11 donations, the state Fraternal Order of Police has agreed to surrender more than $9 million to families of fallen cops and to a health-care program for Ground Zero responders, The Post has learned.
In a settlement with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the FOP will distribute about $6 million to 72 families of law-enforcement officers who perished at the World Trade Center – about $83,500 for each family.
…
But the FOP distributed only half the funds to the heroes’ families.
It socked away millions of dollars in annuities and spent money on itself, an AG probe found.
In May 2003, the FOP used $925,000 in donations to buy its lodge headquarters in Hicksville, L.I.”

The group hasn’t returned phone calls seeking comment today.

And the Fraternal Order of New York State Troopers ran into trouble five years ago over the New Jersey-based telemarketer it had hired for its fundraising.

Then-attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, announced in 2002 that his office had brought a lawsuit against the telemarkerter alleging a deceptive campaign that violating numerous donor protection statutes.

The fraternal order terminated its contract with telemarketer and agreed to cease soliciting funds from the public permanently, according to Spitzer’s office.

I don’t know if Mike was legitimate, but if I had ever thought of giving to a police organization, I’m not going to now.

The latest in the celebrity endorsements: Robert Duvall for Rudy Giuliani.

Duvall, who played lawyer Tom Hagen in The Godfather, will hold a fundraiser for Giuliani at his Virginia home later this month.

“Rudy has consistently proven he’s ready to confront tough challenges,” Duvall said in a written statement. “I don’t normally get involved in politics, but I think the stakes are too high this election.  Mayor Giuliani has the executive experience, proven record and bold vision needed to lead our country.”

Giuliani has called The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola’s mob chronicle, his favorite movie.

PHOTO: Robert Duvall poses during a photo call to present the movie “Lucky You” in Rome, Friday, June 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, a “Hillraiser” for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, failed to show up in court in California today, much as he did 15 years ago. He’s wanted on a felony theft conviction.

Here’s the Associated Press article:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was a wanted man again after he failed to show up for a court date Wednesday and a judge issued a new warrant for his arrest.
Hsu, whose criminal past has roiled the campaigns of top presidential candidates, was scheduled to ask a judge to cut in half the $2 million bail he posted last week when he turned himself in after spending 15 years on the lam from a felony theft conviction.
Instead, San Mateo Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles ordered Hsu’s bail forfeited to the county and issued a new arrest warrant. If Hsu is arrested again, he will be jailed without bail this time.
Hsu, a Hong Kong native, was also supposed to turn over his passport Wednesday. Hsu’s prominent Silicon Valley criminal defense attorney Jim Brosnahan said Hsu failed to give the passport to the legal team on Monday.
“Mr. Hsu is not here and we do not know where Mr. Hsu is,� Brosnahan said outside court. Brosnahan said that “there was some contact� with Hsu a few hours before the scheduled 9 a.m. court appearance, but he declined to say how and who talked to Hsu.
Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft, admitting he’d defrauded investors of $1 million after falsely claiming to have contracts to purchase and sell Latex gloves. He was facing up to three years in prison when he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date.
Prosecutors said they suspected Hsu fled the country then. But a few years ago, Hsu re-emerged in New York as an apparel executive and a wealthy benefactor of Democratic causes and candidates. They included presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign designated Hsu a “HillRaiser� — a title given to top donors.

Brosnahan said he didn’t know if Hsu returned to his Manhattan condominium or stayed in California after his five-hour jail stint Friday when Hsu turned himself in. He was released from jail after posting $2 million bail, which a judge refused then to reduce to $1 million.
Prosecutors with the California Attorney General’s office had agreed to the bail reduction because it would be used to reimburse the victims Hsu admitted swindling out of $1 million in the early 1990s.
“We did think that was enough,� Deputy Attorney General Ralph Sivilla said outside court. Sivilla also said he was troubled that Hsu didn’t turn in his passport.
Federal Election Commission records show Hsu donated $260,000 to Democratic Party groups and federal candidates since 2004. Though a top fundraiser for Clinton, he also donated to Obama’s Senate campaign in 2004 and to his political action committee. He also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to state and municipal candidates.
After reports surfaced of his fugitive status, politicians at all levels scrambled to distance themselves. On Wednesday, Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who initially said he would keep the $6,200 from Hsu, announced that he would give the money to charity.
Kennedy had originally counted $6,600 in donations, but a review of federal campaign records showed it was actually $6,200.
Obama’s campaign said it would give to charity the $2,000 Hsu contributed to his 2004 Senate campaign and the $5,000 Hsu gave to his political action committee, Hopefund.
Hsu’s $43,700 in donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $2,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also will go to charity, both groups said.
Clinton joined the other candidates, returning $23,000 in contributions that Hsu made to her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac. But his close association with her campaign put Clinton on the defensive.
Last week, Hsu said he thought the criminal charges had been taken care of when he completed his bankruptcy proceedings in the early 1990s.
“I have not sought to evade any of my obligations and certainly not the law,� Hsu said in a prepared statement.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the Not-For-Profit Leadership Summit at the Rye Town Hilton in Rye Brook May 14, 2007. ( Ricky Flores / The Journal News )

Over the weekend, I wrote about a colony of feral cats at the Westchester County Airport. It’s a small group of cats—only about 10—but Westchester officials seem to want them gone.

As with any article you write about animals, it prompted responses. One writer went to the to trouble to look up information about the airport and asked why 10 cats were too much for about 700 acres of land. I agree. You would think that the cats could be moved to another spot on the property by feeding them somewhere away from people.

The cats were trapped and neutered, then returned to the airport property.  It’s a procedure recommended by the Humane Society of the United States for caring for feral cats. But it was done at a cost of thousands of dollars paid for privately. Forgotten Felines, a volunteer group, has taken the lead, and the organization’s Sue Gorman is meeting with county officials to sort out what to do about the cats now.

Another writer  wondered why there were no public funds in Westchester for trap/neuter/return programs. It’s not the cats’ fault, she argued. Many of them were abandoned by their owners, she wrote, and shelters are full.

I’d be interested to know what other people think.