BOND TICKER : Detective Firm Hired to Get on Treasurer’s Office’s Case

Kroll Associates, which investigated the World Trade Center bombing, is looking into the Orange County financial crisis.

Kroll, an international corporate consulting and detective firm known for such assignments as tracing Saddam Hussein’s assets, has been hired by the county grand jury to recommend how to strengthen oversight of the county treasurer’s office.

“They’ll be nosing around all over the place, but not with the idea of pointing fingers. Our real interest is in restoring public confidence,” Mario Lazo, the foreman of the grand jury, said Monday.

The Kroll work is a consulting job being done to help the grand jury in its civil oversight role, not a full-blown investigation. The results will be incorporated by the grand jury in reports on the debacle before the panel’s term ends June 30, Lazo said.

Measure R Might Buy Time for Auditor

Anti-tax activists might delay their long-threatened recall effort against Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis so that they can focus on defeating Measure R, the proposed half-cent sales tax increase on the June 27 ballot.

Members of the Committees of Correspondence, a citizens’ watchdog group, have criticized Lewis for what they say was poor oversight of the county’s investments. County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy last month asked him to resign. But Lewis has defended his audits and vowed to stay in office.

Under election rules, Lewis could not become the subject of a recall until April because he won reelection just last year. The Committees of Correspondence planned to launch a recall effort this month. But now, some members want to delay the recall and concentrate of fighting Measure R.

“I don’t think Lewis is the important thing now,” said Bill Mello, a Committees of Correspondence leader. “I believe we have to fight this tax with all our energy and resources. After the tax, we can deal with the recall.”

The Committees of Correspondence will discuss the issue at its meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Orange City Hall.

Anaheim Cash Flow Takes Turn for Better

After obtaining a $75-million line of credit and trying to get an emergency cash disbursement in bankruptcy court last week, the city of Anaheim wound up paying a $99.5-million debt Monday without using either.

City officials said Monday that they made the payment to Deposit Trust Corp. in New York by digging deep into their reserve funds and some recently received hotel bed tax money.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan on Friday had agreed to let Anaheim withdraw $29 million from Orange County’s bankrupt investment pool if a line of credit from Industrial Bank of Japan was not finalized in time to pay the debt. But the credit line came through late Friday so the city did not need the emergency cash.

The debt stems from the $95 million Anaheim borrowed in March, 1994, to increase its stake in the investment pool, which collapsed late last year.

Although the debt has been paid without use of the credit line, which has an interest rate of 6.17%, Colson said the city may have to use it to pay some future debts, such as a $7.7-million utility debt due later this month.

Compiled by Shelby Grad, with Greg Hernandez and the Associated Press.