Tips Offered to Citron on Appearance

Orange County’s fallen treasurer-tax collector would do best to don a suit of charcoal gray, ditch the turquoise trinkets and, while admitting to some human failings, defend himself in the manner of any self-respecting politician:

Shift the blame to others.

That’s the two cents some political consultants and image gurus would like to offer Robert L. Citron as he prepares to take the hot seat in Sacramento on Tuesday before a state Senate committee, making his first public statements on the county’s fiscal fiasco.

Attorneys, however, say it doesn’t matter if Citron turns up in his canary-yellow Easter suit. They say he’s already political shish kebab--and his most pressing concern now ought to be steering clear of criminal charges.

“I would have him take the Fifth,” said attorney Harland W. Braun, who defended Los Angeles Police Officer Theodore Briseno in the Rodney King civil rights trial. Otherwise, the politicians “are going to have to have a lynching.”

But the bespectacled numbers-cruncher who arguably is one of Orange County’s most reviled residents will not, according to his attorney, invoke constitutional protections against self-incrimination when he testifies before the Senate Special Committee on Local Government Investments about the high-risk dealings that drove the wealthy county into financial ruin. Neither will he seek immunity from prosecution, said David Wiechert, who declined to comment further on Citron’s legal strategy.

That, other defense lawyers said, could be Citron’s riskiest move yet considering that there are criminal investigations of his actions. “Oftentimes when people are being publicly vilified, they . . . want to tell their story to clear things up,” said another Rodney King case veteran, John Barnett, who represented Briseno during the initial state trial. “They feel wronged. But that impulse to tell their story should almost always be resisted.”

One can never be sure what prosecutors are looking for, Barnett and others said, adding that a simple misstatement or faulty recollection, for example, can be the basis of a perjury charge.

“There’s going to be pressure to indict just to get the (other) politicians off the hook,” Braun said. “They’re going to be strutting, claiming shock that they didn’t know what was going on all along.”

The 10-member committee is charged with investigating Orange County bankruptcy and recommending changes in state law to prevent such fiscal disasters in the future. It includes some legislators who already have made their dismay a matter of record.

Sen. Daniel E. Boatwright (D-Concord), a former prosecutor known for his confrontational style, has publicly chastised school officials who borrowed money to invest in the county’s ill-fated investment pool. And two other committee members, senators Quentin L. Kopp (I-San Francisco) and Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), rushed to introduce bills calling for limits on chancy investments.

Those aren’t even the Republicans. Two Orange County committee members, John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove), could have some pointed queries for Citron, the sole elected Democrat in the county government before he resigned Dec. 4.

“This is not the O. J. Simpson case, where people are walking around saying, ‘I can’t believe he did it,’ ” said Jack M. Earley, an Irvine attorney who defended La Jolla socialite Betty Broderick against murder charges. “. . . They’re only saying they can’t believe he lost that kind of money.”

Still, some political consultants say Citron could take this opportunity to toss around the blame that has been heaped on him. And given that Citron, while he was a star of municipal finance, had the blessing of many Republican officeholders, GOP leaders are in no position to profit from partisan attacks, consultants warn.

“This could come back and hit them in the face,” said Mark Galanty, whose Santa Monica firm produces political advertising. Galanty said Citron shouldn’t walk in with “an attitude” but should behave respectfully and humbly toward the committee. He might even admit to mistakes and apologize.

But he should “make people aware that (others) were aware of what he was doing, from the city councils to the brokerage houses . . . (and) make sure people are aware he’s the fall guy.”

Hank Sheinkopf, whose New-York based political consulting firm has handled numerous California campaigns, advocates a more aggressive approach.

Citron, Sheinkopf said, has got to vigorously defend himself. From high-rolling wizard, he has been unfairly demoted in the public’s mind to “the Michael Milken of public finance.” He’s got to remind the committee that he was a revered public servant for more than two decades.

“I think he should tell the truth--he has a seven-term history, this was approved every step of the way, nothing (he) did was unusual,” Sheinkopf said.

His fault, Sheinkopf said, is that he couldn’t predict the bond market. He can say he’s sorry for this loss, but “look at all the years there wasn’t a loss and the county benefited.”

On a less substantive level--but some would argue no less important--image and fashion specialists say Citron should present himself as cautious yet confident.

That means a dark gray suit with a crisp white shirt (no button-downs), a subtly striped maroon tie, and polished--but not brand new--wingtips, said Michael Renzi, a Newport Beach wardrobe designer who advises attorneys, executives and talk-show hosts.

No black suits, no red power ties. That’s “trying too hard,” Renzi said. And nothing “flashy or flamboyant.” That would leave out the yellow suit Citron used to wear to the office for Easter, or the red suit at Christmastime.

“He’s got to appear very conservative,” Renzi said. “You don’t want them thinking . . . ‘Does he have a Ferrari out back?’ ”

Renzi and other fashion consultants said the silver-and-turquoise Southwestern jewelry favored by Citron has got to go. It clashes with the desired “Swiss banker” image. On the other hand, this is no time to show up with a gold watch, either.

“He should choose a band that has some type of lizard skin,” said Dianna Pfaff-Martin, founder of California Image Advisors in Newport Beach.

As for his comportment, Pfaff-Martin said, Citron should maintain eye contact with his audience without staring, speak clearly in the lower ranges and end his statements in “a powerful down tone.”

Wiechert, Citron’s attorney, says he has better things to do than advise his client on such things.

“What to wear? That would be the last possible thing that goes through my head,” he said. “I can’t disclose what I’ve discussed with him, but there’s no story in what he’s going to wear. He will have clothes on.”

In any case, some image consultants say Citron’s PR problem is beyond repair.

“I think it’s way too late for him to be thinking about that,” said Aviva Diamond, president of Blue Streak Inc., a Los Angeles company that provides media and speaker training to corporate executives.

“We tell our clients that in every crisis there is a window of opportunity very early on, where people are still willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. . . . Mr. Citron missed that window.”

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this report.