Roth Led O.C. Board in Gifts Even During Investigation : Ethics: As supervisor, he accepted $3,318 worth from many individuals who had business relationships with the county while subject of influence-peddling probe.

Even while then-County Supervisor Don R. Roth was under investigation for alleged influence peddling, he continued accepting gifts at a pace exceeding any of his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, according to financial statements filed Friday.

In all, Roth’s gifts were valued at $3,318 and included trips, sports tickets and meals from many individuals who had business relationships with the county, according to the statements for 1992.

About $1,700 worth of gifts were accepted after it was revealed that state and federal authorities had opened criminal investigations into Roth’s activities. He eventually resigned his post on March 1, and last week pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor political ethics-law violations.

As part of the guilty pleas, Roth admitted violations of state ethics laws that require local politicians to report all gifts of $50 or more and to abstain from voting on matters involving anyone who has given them more than $250 in gifts within a year. He was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, perform 200 hours of community service and serve three years’ probation.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade said Friday that investigators are reviewing the former supervisor’s latest disclosure report to determine whether the statement “matched the information we already have.”

Although Wade described the plea agreement reached with Roth and his attorneys as “a done deal,” he declined to state whether any new revelations would prompt a reopening of the investigation.

“I don’t want to comment until we’ve had a chance to review it,” Wade said.

Roth’s past financial statements, which are required by state law, were scrutinized as part of the 11-month district attorney’s investigation.

Attorney Paul S. Meyer, who negotiated the agreement with prosecutors on Roth’s behalf, said he expected the district attorney to review the new filing, but considered the entire matter closed.

“I’m satisfied the district attorney’s office did a thorough job,” Meyer said. “The settlement was a result of that investigation. Our understanding was that it would close out all matters. If the D.A. thought there were other matters to investigate, he would have held off a week or two. There was no rush to settle.”

Roth’s latest statement comes after a report in The Times that the former supervisor’s chief of staff told investigators Roth had intentionally undervalued meals from business people so he could remain eligible to vote on their projects.

According to transcripts of interviews with investigators, Steven E. Malone told authorities that he and Roth for several years used a system of reporting free meals on annual disclosure statements: always listing $10 for breakfast, $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner, regardless of the actual costs.

Attorney Dana W. Reed, who helped Roth compile the gift report, said the latest gift statement represented a careful estimated value of all gifts listed.

“From a legal point of view, I don’t see a problem here,” Reed said. “In every instance, we rounded up and estimated high.”

As in years past, Roth’s latest statement listed champagne from a prominent Anaheim car dealer, tickets to a range of sporting events, golf outings and banquets sponsored by local businesses. Dinners and lunches alone were valued at $1,567 and were hosted by many people with business ties to the county.

Among the other four county supervisors, only the $2,775 in gifts received by Thomas F. Riley came close to the $3,318 total reported by Roth.

The most generous gift-giver to Roth was the Los Angeles Rams football franchise: 18 game tickets valued at $540. The statement also showed that GTE/Customer Networks, a telecommunications firm based in Irvine, gave Roth $241 in gifts that included dinners, lunches, golf and a baseball game.

Also prominent on Roth’s lunch circuit were powerful local lobbyists Frank Michelena and Lyle Overby.

Among the most unusual listings was a $225 airplane ride provided by a Massachusetts foundation specializing in antique aircraft restoration. Reed said the company was not seeking business before the county, but had invited Roth on a pleasure flight to Palm Springs in an open-air cockpit.

“It was a fun kind of thing,” Reed said. “They flew out there, and turned around and came back.”