Roth Promises to Turn Over Records to D.A.

Demonstrating his willingness to cooperate with authorities, Supervisor Don R. Roth said Tuesday that he will voluntarily turn over to the district attorney’s office all his bank records and credit card receipts since January, 1990.

Roth’s decision ordering the banks to cooperate fully in the investigation follows disclosures last week that four members of his staff were subpoenaed to appear before the Orange County Grand Jury as part of a widening probe into whether the supervisor had received thousands of dollars in unreported gifts.

Roth’s attorney, Dana W. Reed of Costa Mesa, disclosed Tuesday that the district attorney had requested the financial records last week, but said that Roth, after “an exhaustive search,” could not find all of the documents in his personal files.

“To ensure that the district attorney receives a complete set of the documents, Supervisor Roth has requested that the district attorney procure them directly from the financial institutions involved,” Reed said in a prepared statement. The supervisor’s decision precludes the need for investigators to serve a search warrant to obtain the documents.

Because some of the financial documents were missing from Roth’s files, “we decided that rather than give them part of what they wanted, we wanted to give them everything,” Reed said in an interview. “And the only way to do that was to go to the source.”

Maury Evans, chief assistant to Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, said he was not yet aware of Roth’s decision to turn over the documents.

“We have had earlier discussions with attorney Paul S. Meyer concerning certain documents we wish to review,” he said, referring to a criminal attorney who is also representing Roth. “We are pleased that it appears that Supervisor Roth is cooperating regarding the documents.”

The district attorney opened a criminal investigation of Roth in May, seeking to determine whether the 71-year-old official engaged in a pattern of influence-peddling by exchanging political favors for gifts from local business people.

The Times has reported that in recent years Roth failed to report in state-required filings that he accepted numerous gifts from businessmen--including meals, trips and a rent deferral--and then, in some cases, voted for their proposals.

Reed said he expected by the end of Thursday to have contacted two banks and three credit card companies to instruct them to comply fully with the district attorney’s requests.