Citron Files $4,500 Claim Against County

Robert L. Citron may have lost $1.7 billion belonging to Orange County taxpayers, but the former treasurer now wants them to pay $4,500 for what he contends is a 25-year-old debt.

Citron filed a creditor’s claim in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week, asserting that the county never paid him for unused sick leave he accrued as a county employee before he was elected tax collector in 1971.

The former treasurer, who is seeking a lighter sentence for his criminal convictions by claiming that he has suffered from “dementia” since 1990, offered the following calculation in support of his demand for payment: “725.43 [unused] hours X $6.28 an hour (my last hourly rate) equals $4,555.70.”

Former County Chief Executive William J. Popejoy said Tuesday that he was shocked to hear about Citron’s claim. “It’s really sad that he would have the audacity to file a claim after what he helped bring about,” Popejoy said. “Maybe he really is suffering from dementia.”

* LENIENCY PLEA: Judge says Citron should be given probe data. A18