Board Raises Cap on Ex-Official’s Legal Fees

Voicing reluctance to keep approving ever greater outlays of taxpayer money to defend officials accused of bankruptcy-related misdeeds, a divided Board of Supervisors nonetheless voted Tuesday to increase former Budget Director Ronald S. Rubino’s legal fees cap to $500,000.

“I’m supportive of the $500,000, but that is as far as I can go,” said Supervisor Marian Bergeson. “A half-million dollars is a good contribution for a strong defense.”

Concerns about the spiraling legal costs prompted supervisors Jim Silva and Don Saltarelli to vote against the proposal, saying the public had already contributed enough with the previously approved $300,000 allocation.

“I can understand the problem of an average citizen [facing such] . . . defense costs,” Silva said. “But at this time, I am not ready to pay for any additional defense costs.”

Tuesday’s action also raised questions about the board’s willingness to approve possible appeals for more defense funds from the three top county officials fighting civil misconduct charges for their alleged failure to head off the bankruptcy.

One of the three, Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, has already exceeded his $300,000 spending cap and is expected to seek additional funds soon.

Another, Supervisor William G. Steiner, is close to hitting his $250,000 limit but probably won’t require more money until at least August, when a state appeals court rules whether his misconduct case, and that of board Chairman Roger R. Stanton, should go to trial.

Bergeson said she would have to consider each funding request individually, before deciding how much county support is appropriate in their cases.

But, she added, “under no circumstances would I go above” the $500,000 cap set for Rubino.

In recent months, Bergeson and other board members have expressed unease over the mounting price Orange County is paying to defend current and former officials--especially after Rubino’s attorneys last week estimated that his total legal bill will reach $1.3 million.

Rubino said Tuesday he was grateful for the board’s 3-2 vote to increase his spending limit from $300,000 to $500,000. But he voiced fear that the board might cut off funding before the end of his trial.

“I think it would be unfair to be in the middle of a trial and be abandoned,” Rubino said. “It doesn’t seem right to get to this point . . . and then say ‘sorry.’ ”

Steiner agreed, saying it would send the wrong message to county employees if the board stopped paying Rubino’s bills.

“It would have a chilling effect,” Steiner said. “I feel it would be a great injustice to spend a half-million dollars, then pull the plug right before the trial and leave him Ronald S. Rubino twisting in the wind.”

Rubino, 44, faces two felony counts of aiding and abetting the misappropriation of funds in the county’s ill-fated investment pool. If convicted, he faces up to nine years in prison.

The bankruptcy stemmed from $1.64 billion in securities trading losses that were blamed on the risky investment practices of former Treasurer Robert L. Citron, who managed the investment pool.

Citron pleaded guilty last year to six felony counts of securities fraud and misappropriation of public funds, but he has not yet been sentenced. His former assistant, Matthew Raabe, still faces trial on the same six counts.

The board stopped paying Citron and Raabe’s legal fees in February 1995.

The $200,000 cash infusion will help Rubino cover pretrial expenses, such as hiring expert witnesses and jury consultants, but more money will be needed. The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 5 and last six to 12 weeks.

According to county officials, Rubino has saved more than $160,000 through discounted attorney fees, and by using volunteer paralegal and investigative services. Rubino said his family members have spent about $60,000 of their own money on defense efforts.

“I think Ron has made a sincere effort to keep his legal costs down,” Bergeson said after the meeting. But “as I made clear in my vote, [$500,000] is my cap.”

Steiner said that while he would support additional payments to Rubino, he questioned whether a total of $1.3 million is actually needed. As part of the board’s Tuesday action, county officials will make their own estimate of Rubino’s legal costs.

Steiner said his attorneys have estimated that his own bills should not exceed $500,000 if his case goes to trial.

In other action Tuesday, the board reversed itself and voted unanimously to accept competitive bids from firms interested in operating an 18-hole golf course at Mile Square Regional Park and developing a vacant portion of the Fountain Valley facility.

The action comes two weeks after the board, on a 3-2 vote, rejected a staff recommendation favoring competitive bids, instead suggesting that the county negotiate exclusively with the Mile Square Partnership, which has operated the golf course since the late 1960s.

The earlier vote raised concerns from some residents and activists because the board usually encourages open bidding for county contracts. Last week, the county Harbors, Beaches and Parks Commission--whose members are appointed mainly by the supervisors--voted in favor of seeking bids for the Mile Square project.

Some board members said that meetings last week with county Harbors, Beaches and Parks officials provided them with new information about the issue and prompted them to change their votes.

Mile Square Partnership has the right to match any bids to operate the existing golf course, but does not hold “right of first refusal” for some of the undeveloped portions of the park.

County officials plan to return to the board with bid proposals within 60 days.