Big Mistake Was Firing Him, Error Finder Says

Stanley L. Roach believes that his attention to detail in the summer of 1988 cost him his job at the Orange County recorder’s office.

Roach, a county computer analyst back then, says he was harassed, intimidated and finally discharged after he uncovered what he describes as extensive errors in the county recorder’s record-keeping system, the one that keeps track of property ownership and other legal transactions in the county.

After being fired in July, 1988, Roach--now a private data-processing consultant--filed suit against his former boss, County Recorder Lee A. Branch, alleging breach of contract, wrongful discharge and retaliatory discipline.

Last March, county officials decided to settle the case by paying Roach $53,230. County officials admitted no wrongdoing but claim that it was cheaper to settle than fight the matter in court. Besides, they said, $20,000 of the settlement was for legitimate overtime that was owed to Roach.

Recently, Roach announced that he intends to become a candidate for recorder and oppose his former boss in next June’s election.

So what did Roach, 50, do with the money?

He proudly purchased a classic 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450-SEL. His license plates on the luxury car read: “Thanx L.B.” Roach said that means “thank you to Lee Branch” for firing him and making the settlement possible.

Roach claims that the Mercedes illustrates the fact that government officials sometimes do things that end up wasting taxpayers’ money. On top of that, he contends, the recording problems that he uncovered at the recorder’s office have gone uncorrected.

Branch, however, says that all of Roach’s allegations of improper record-keeping were investigated by various county agencies, including the grand jury, and none was substantiated.

“I don’t know what his problem is,” said Branch, first elected as recorder in 1978. “Nothing is perfect, but we try and achieve it. We are trying to find new systems to serve the people.”

When told of Roach’s intention to run against him, Branch said: “He probably won’t be the only one running against me. Everybody has the right to seek public office.”

The recorder’s job pays $68,000 a year.

Roach began working for Orange County in 1982, when he joined the data systems department. He was transferred to the recorder’s office in 1986. After his transfer, Roach says, he discovered that as many as 10% of the computerized indexes prepared by the recorder’s office were in error. Some records were merely misfiled, while some bore incorrect information. Roach claimed at the time that it could cost as much as $6 million to correct the indexes.

County officials who looked into Roach’s complaints confirmed that the indexes were in error about 3% of the time, although one test of 17 years’ worth of records showed a 19% error rate.

But county lawyers pointed out that title insurance companies generally do not rely on the public index when researching property histories.

In literature prepared for his upcoming political campaign for recorder, Roach said his ambition is “to stop the waste, mismanagement and incompetence in the Orange County recorder’s office.”

“For years I have complained about the waste, inefficiency, corruption and incompetence in government,” Roach concluded. “Now I can do something about it.”