ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Citron Is ‘Heartbroken’ Over Filing, Friend Says : Official: Ex-treasurer-tax collector is frustrated he can’t help O.C. sort things out, neighbor adds.

Former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron remained largely sequestered inside his Santa Ana home Wednesday, refusing to talk with reporters. But he insisted through a neighbor that he is not hiding.

“No he isn’t hiding. Not at all,” said Dan Miller, who is executive director of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority and lives next door to Citron. “In fact he went to a USC alumni dinner last night (Tuesday).”

Miller, one of a handful of people with access to Citron these days, said Citron “accepts the situation as it is and doesn’t think that any discussions with the press will resolve anything at this point.”

But Citron, who resigned over the weekend, is “heartbroken” that Orange County was forced to file for bankruptcy protection, Miller added.

“He is also frustrated that he is unable to help sort things out. He feels very anxious about sitting at home, unable to step in and help. But he is confident that things will get better,” Miller said.

Miller said he and other Citron friends have been encouraging him to speak out and blunt the barrage of criticism he has been subjected to for the past week. But the former official, who shunned the limelight during his 24 years as county treasurer-tax collector, is adamant about remaining unobtrusive, even in the face of partisan attacks from some Republican critics. When he resigned, Citron was the lone elected Democrat in county government.

“He was a dedicated public servant for 30 years, answering only to county administrators, and he’s not going to change,” Miller said. “All these people who are calling for his head forget that for 14 years his investment strategies were generating earnings for (the county-run investment portfolio) when other’s earnings were static.”

Miller, who has had lengthy conversations with Citron since the financial crisis began last week, said his friend’s biggest concern these days is “adjusting to the fact that he isn’t going to work in the mornings anymore.”

“This is a guy who never took vacations during the 30 years he worked for the county,” Miller said. “His work was his life.”