Orange County Supervisor Under Cloud of Inquiries

With the American flag behind him, Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth stood on stage with fists clenched overhead in the pose of a victorious boxer. It was the local GOP’s primary-night party last month, and as Roth was introduced to the party luminaries, this was his chance to stand among the faithful.

The crowd cheered him. But with many in the audience aware of Roth’s prominence in recent headlines because of allegations of influence peddling, there was an awkwardness to the moment, too. “Hang in there,” Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes whispered to Roth privately.

The 70-year-old Roth is still hanging in there, but in the weeks since that GOP party, the news--both political and legal--has only gotten worse for the popular one-time mayor of Anaheim, who is serving his second term since 1987 on the powerful Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The FBI and the Orange County district attorney’s office have opened separate investigations into questions of whether Roth violated political disclosure or conflict-of-interest laws in his dealings with local constituents. The FBI has said it wants to determine whether Roth engaged in a quid pro quo to swap gifts for political favors.

In state-required disclosure forms, Roth has consistently reported a slew of gifts accepted from lobbyists, developers and others--including such items as Los Angeles Rams and Disneyland tickets, champagne, golf outings, use of a Hawaii condominium and dozens of meals. In 1991, he outpaced the other four Orange County supervisors in reporting $2,880 in gifts.

His current legal problems, however, stem from alleged gifts that Roth did not report.

Authorities are said to be looking at Roth’s failure to report his acceptance of several weekend getaways, free stock and other gifts from several constituents in Orange County with business before the supervisors.

And attention has focused most closely on Roth’s relationship with the Doughers, a Laguna Beach family who own 13 mobile home parks in Orange County and Artesia and have contributed heavily to Roth’s campaigns. The Times has disclosed that Roth failed to report three trips to Santa Catalina Island, numerous meals, and what amounted to an $8,500 interest-free loan from the Doughers through an unusual rental agreement. Last December, Roth voted with his four fellow supervisors to approve a stalled $5-million condominium project on Dougher-owned land in Midway City.

A former realtor whose Anaheim base has made him one of the most powerful politicians in Orange County, Roth denied any impropriety when allegations were first reported in The Times in April, but has refused any comment since then.

Roth’s attorney, Dana Reed, has said that while he is confident Roth is guilty of no criminal conduct, the supervisor may well have to pay fines and acknowledge violations of the state’s 1974 Political Reform Act. The act requires local officials to report all gifts that cost more than $50, puts a cap on gifts from a single source at $1,000 and bans legislators from voting on matters affecting donors above certain levels.

Orange County politicos from both parties, meanwhile, have kept a close eye on near-weekly disclosures in the case. Roth’s seat on the county board--up for reelection in 1994--was regarded as untouchable just months ago. But local officials have already begun tossing about names of potential successors should Roth step down. Some are calling the case the most potentially damaging political scandal to hit Orange County in years.

“With the FBI involved, it’s like the death watch,” former Anaheim Mayor William Thom said after allegations first surfaced. “You can bet your life this has become a hot topic. There is blood in the water.”

Authorities have declined to discuss the status of their investigations.

However, the FBI has subpoenaed hundreds of documents in recent weeks as part of its inquiry into Roth’s relationship with the Doughers, including receipts and other records detailing several dozen meals around the state that the Doughers hosted for Roth and his former wife.

One of those receipts included a note from Dorothy Dougher saying the “purpose” of a trip the family hosted for Roth to Catalina last year was to discuss with him the upcoming supervisors’ vote on the $5-million condominium project. Roth has maintained that he did not know the Doughers had any business before the county.

Roth’s 17-month stay in a Dougher mobile home park in Anaheim has also become a key part of the controversy. Family partner Donald J. Dougher has disclosed that Roth’s rental agreement with the Doughers--dated and purportedly signed by Roth and Donald Dougher in August, 1990--was actually backdated by more than 16 months because people “might be making trouble for Roth” over his stay at a Dougher family park.

The rental agreement allowed Roth to live at the park for up to 18 months beginning in mid-1990 while deferring his $500-a-month rent without interest until after he moved out. Political finance experts say this amounted to a substantial loan that should have been reported to the state as a gift.

Roth moved into the park following the breakup of his second marriage. In the months that followed, Roth told many listeners in the Hall of Administration of his late-life rejuvenation--boasting of a girlfriend more than 30 years his junior and growing a short ponytail. But Roth also said he was in trouble financially and that the Doughers, as good friends, helped him out by letting him stay at their park.

When first asked by The Times in April about his stay at the park, Roth produced the rental agreement--dated Aug. 15, 1990--to show that he had agreed to pay rent at the park.

But a note that was apparently written by Roth--and which is now in the hands of law enforcement officials--indicates that Roth personally asked the Doughers last December to “back date” the agreement.

The allegations against Roth expanded last month when The Times disclosed that Roth reported spending nearly $2,900 in campaign funds for air fare on a much-publicized 1990 “technology tour” through Europe, even though he had already been reimbursed for his ticket by the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission. A member of that public agency, Roth has championed the idea of linking his hometown of Anaheim to Las Vegas via a super train.

While some have defended Roth as an effective and ethical legislator, critics have portrayed him as a “ ‘50s-style politician” who never got in step with political reforms during the last two decades in the area of public disclosure of conflicts of interest.

Howard Adler, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said: “It’s rare that an incumbent gets in this much trouble.

“I really don’t want to judge him in advance of the investigation, but clearly, if all these things are true, it’s certainly more than just bad judgment. I think these allegations are potentially as serious as what brought Ralph Diedrich down,” Adler said, referring to the late Orange County supervisor jailed for two years on bribery charges in the late-1970s.

Republicans blame their political opponents for stirring the political tempest.

“It’s rather vulturous on the part of the Democrats to be circling this early,” said Orange County Republican Party chief Thomas Fuentes. “Don Roth is a spunky fighter, so they had better be careful how loudly they offer their names as challengers.”

Associates say the controversy has dogged Roth even outside the Hall of Administration. At a church in Anaheim Hills recently, a pastor asked the congregation to give their prayers to “one in our midst who is going through some rough times.”

No name was mentioned, but it wasn’t needed, said Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, who attended the service. “We all knew who he was talking about.”

Times staff writer Kevin Johnson contributed to this report.