Mark Jimenez

Secret Service records released Thursday show that a contributor to the Democratic Party with ties to Paraguay was invited to the White House 12 times between 1994 and 1996 and the administration confirmed that he met with top U.S. officials to discuss concerns about a coup in that South American country.

Secret Service records released Thursday show that a contributor to the Democratic Party with ties to Paraguay was invited to the White House 12 times between 1994 and 1996 and the administration confirmed that he met with top U.S. officials to discuss concerns about a coup in that South American country.

The Philippine Supreme Court ordered the arrest of a lawmaker wanted by U.S. authorities for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to former President Clinton. A regional court had granted Mark Jimenez bail last year, but prosecutors challenged that ruling. The Supreme Court ruled Jimenez was not entitled to bail. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Jimenez would turn himself in. His case is seen as a test of an extradition treaty signed by U.S. and Philippine officials in 1996.

After five years of court battles and political scandals, a wealthy Filipino legislator was extradited to Florida to face charges that he made illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic Party and to former President Clinton. Rep. Mark Jimenez's flight was to arrive today in Miami.

A federal magistrate has granted bond to a Filipino congressman accused of making illegal campaign donations to former President Clinton and other Democratic politicians. Mark B. Jimenez can be released on a $300,000 bond, along with a $20,000 cash deposit with the court, the magistrate ruled. Facing a U.S. extradition request, Jimenez, 56, voluntarily left the Philippines last week.

A businessman indicted on 17 counts of making illegal contributions to the campaigns of President Clinton and others faces more charges. An indictment issued in Washington in September accused Mark B. Jimenez of illegally giving candidates nearly $40,000. Those charges were incorporated into Thursday's indictment, which also accuses him of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud. Jimenez was Florida's largest donor to the national Democratic Party in 1996.

Michael Blazevic of San Pedro, Jorge Sanchez of University, Art Torres of Banning, Mark Jimenez of Venice, Luis Orellana of Belmont and Henri Rivas of Locke will travel to France later this month to play in a soccer tournament in conjunction with World Cup '98. John Ortega of Van Nuys Birmingham, Greg Avila of Granada Hills Kennedy and Abdullah Safdari of Chatsworth also are on the team.

John Ortega of Birmingham High, Greg Avila of Kennedy and Abdullah Safdari of Chatsworth are headed to France this summer to play in a youth soccer tournament in conjunction with World Cup '98. They will be on a nine-player team representing Los Angeles in a tournament that includes teenage soccer players from 22 countries. The L.A. team will be the only one from the United States. The tournament is scheduled July 1-12 in Saint-Denis, France, site of the World Cup.

Miami businessman Mark B. Jimenez was charged Wednesday with using phony contributors to make $39,500 in illegal contributions to President Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign and to other Democrats. Jimenez, 52, who has met with Clinton over coffee at the White House and played golf with him, was charged in a 17-count indictment. He was the 12th person charged by the Justice Department campaign finance task force.

With economic uncertainties mounting, consumers involved in major transactions more than ever need to assert their rights from the beginning. It's not as desirable to have to complain after the fact, and a lawsuit is a last resort, usually a thoroughly disagreeable way to achieve satisfaction, if available at all at an acceptable price. Such thoughts come to mind in examining the case of Mark Jimenez and his girlfriend, Karren Trias, of Huntington Beach.