Citron Begins Community Work Program

Appearing slightly dazed and nervous, former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron reported to his new court-mandated job Monday morning at a nondescript building in a small industrial neighborhood, where he will sort requests from jail inmates for such things as deodorant and postage stamps.

Citron, whose mishandling of a county investment pool triggered the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, was sentenced to one year of jail after he pleaded guilty to six felony counts of falsifying documents and misappropriating public funds. He also was fined $100,000. Last week, the Sheriff’s Department decided Citron could serve his sentence performing clerical duties at the sheriff’s commissary warehouse.

He was given the Community Work Program assignment after friends and medical consultants testified that Citron, at 71, was too frail and his mental faculties too deteriorated to handle prison or heavy manual labor.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Ron Wilkerson said the former treasurer will work 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with weekends and holidays off, and return home each evening. With time off for good behavior, he could be released as early as Oct. 24.

Usually four to 10 work program participants report for duties at the building, filling requests from the pool of 5,000 inmates in county custody, Wilkerson said. While there, they are considered to be “in custody” and cannot use the phone or come and go at will.

All inmate money is held by the county and deductions are made for personal items they request such as candy bars, stationery and deodorant. Requests for items are made in writing. It is now Citron’s job to sort and alphabetize the requests and pass them on to other participants who fill the orders, Wilkerson said.

Wearing a brown leather jacket, he made his way past three television news crews and entered the building without saying a word. In his apparent haste or nervousness, however, he parked behind another car, boxing it in. He had to return to the crowd to move his car.

The warehouse is in a small, unmarked beige building on a short street of light-industry offices, within several miles of the county building where Citron once managed an enormous investment portfolio. He oversaw billions of dollars in a county-run investment pool that drew from about 200 agencies, schools and municipalities.

Using risky securities, Citron earned yields of 8% or more for the county investment pool, which was significantly higher than most other municipal funds. He said he based most of his investment decisions on advice from outside consultants, including brokers at Wall Street’s Merrill Lynch.

The pool crashed in December 1994, causing a $1.64-billion loss and plunging the county into bankruptcy. Orange County was forced to lay off about 500 employees and cut services.

In April 1995, Citron pleaded guilty to six felony counts of defrauding members of the pool and misappropriating more than $100 million in interest. Since then, he has testified several times before the Orange County Grand Jury and at the trial of former Budget Director Ronald S. Rubino, and he has cooperated with state and federal investigators.

Citron is the first person to publicly admit and apologize for any wrongdoing. Rubino was sentenced to a year’s probation but denied any wrongdoing.

Citron’s former assistant, Matthew R. Raabe, faces trial in March on the same felony counts. Also facing charges is Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis.