Citron Attorney to Seek Reduced Sentence, Citing ‘State of Decline’ : Bankruptcy: Judge rejects plea for delays, sets Dec. 29 court date. Prosecutors fear it could mean end to ex-treasurer’s cooperation.

The attorney for former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, suggesting the county official was manipulated by Wall Street brokerage houses, signaled Friday he will seek reduced punishment when Citron is sentenced Dec. 29.

Attorney David W. Wiechert said Citron, 70, was “in a state of decline” in the period leading up to the Dec. 6, 1994, bankruptcy and that brokerages and others might share criminal blame for the debacle.

Wiechert’s remarks came during a hearing in which Superior Court Judge David O. Carter scheduled Citron’s sentencing for Dec. 29, after rejecting defense requests for more delays.

With an eye on the first anniversary of the unprecedented bankruptcy, Carter said there was no good reason to wait any longer before sentencing Citron. The longtime treasurer, who pleaded guilty last spring to six felony charges related to his management of the doomed county investment fund, has been cooperating for months with authorities probing possible wrongdoing related to the fund collapse.

The fund that Citron managed for cities, schools and special districts lost $1.7 billion when his risky investment strategy foundered, forcing the county to file for bankruptcy.

Carter suggested that Citron’s value to the Orange County Grand Jury, which is investigating the bankruptcy, should be finished by Dec. 29, the last day the panel can hand down indictments before its term expires.

But Wiechert complained the judge was rushing needlessly and could jeopardize his client’s assistance in other criminal cases related to the complex financial debacle. He noted Citron would have no opportunity to testify in any bankruptcy-related cases by then, and no chance to prove his value to prosecutors who will recommend a sentence.

Wiechert said it would take a “monumental effort” to familiarize Carter with the complexities of the bankruptcy, including how much blame should be shared by others.

“I am somewhat taken aback by what appears to be the court’s rush to sentence Mr. Citron,” Wiechert said during a hearing attended by the former treasurer.

Carter, citing court backlogs and the rights of county residents for speedy resolution, ordered Friday’s court session after repeated delays caused by Citron’s assistance to prosecutors.

Prosecutors, too, were surprised by Carter’s insistence on the sentencing date and expressed concern that it could spell the end of Citron’s help in probes that will last into next year.

“I don’t understand the setting of that date,” Assistant Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade said after the hearing. “It is a little unusual.”

In court papers filed Friday, Wade said Citron has met with investigators for 16 interviews--some lasting several hours--and pored over documents to explain the circumstances surrounding the fund collapse. Wade said investigators aren’t done with Citron; the former treasurer is scheduled to meet with prosecutors again next week.

“It is anticipated . . . that Mr. Citron’s cooperation will be necessary to the ongoing criminal investigation for several more months,” Wade said in a four-page statement. The document did not provide details of what kind of aid Citron has provided.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi has said prosecutors’ recommendation on Citron’s sentence would be based on his level of cooperation.

Citron faces a maximum of 14 years in state prison and a $10-million fine after pleading guilty last spring to charges that included misappropriating public finds, falsifying documents and misleading nearly 200 government agencies that entrusted him with their investments. Citron’s former lieutenant, former Assistant Treasurer Matthew Raabe, was later indicted on similar charges and awaits trial.

Wiechert said he may seek to have Citron’s sentencing delayed and handled instead by Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey, who is overseeing the Raabe case. The defense lawyer argued Citron should be sentenced at the end of the Raabe trial, which could be more than a year away, because that judge would be most familiar with the complex case.

Raabe’s lawyers have challenged the grand jury indictments on the grounds that prosecutors and residents who make up the jury are potentially victims of the bankruptcy. The attorneys also are expected to seek to move the trial out of Orange County.

Carter, saying he did not want to interfere with new indictments, said he would hold up Citron’s sentencing until the end of the grand jury’s term, noting that would be more than a year after the bankruptcy.

Carter ordered the Probation Department to prepare a sentencing report on Citron by Dec. 29 but told lawyers he could postpone sentencing then if they persuade him it is necessary.

Wiechert said it would take two months to prepare a pre-sentence defense report that will chronicle Citron’s rise and “decline.”

“The court is going to have a book to read on behalf of Mr. Citron and what happened,” he said.