Board Votes to Audit District Attorney’s Office

Likening the fallout from a just-concluded investigation against him to “what people went through in Germany during the 1930s,” Supervisor Roger R. Stanton joined a board majority in voting Tuesday to conduct a thorough audit of the district attorney’s office.

The audit comes two weeks after a state appeals court dismissed civil misconduct charges against Stanton and Supervisor William G. Steiner, whom prosecutors accused of failing to prevent the county’s $1.64-billion bankruptcy.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi called the action wasteful and “vindictive.” Categorizing Stanton’s comments as “nonsense,” he insisted the audit is unnecessary because the Orange County Grand Jury is just beginning its own $86,000 review of the district attorney’s office, which the board approved earlier this year.

Capizzi said Stanton “is spending taxpayer dollars for his own vindictive motivations. I question the financial wisdom of spending money on another audit when we already have a $86,000 audit underway.”

But Stanton said he proposed the financial review as a way of determining how much money the district attorney’s office has spent on its two-year bankruptcy investigation.

Stanton, who leaves office in three weeks when his term expires, spoke emotionally about the “harassment,” “abuse” and “ridicule” he says he has endured since the misconduct charges were filed a year ago.

“I have a real sense of what people went through in Germany during the 1930s,” Stanton added. “This should not happen in a democratic country.”

Stanton could not be reached for comment to explain his remarks, as he was in an all-day board meeting to help decide the future of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Stan Brin, editor of the Jewish Heritage, the only Jewish newspaper in Orange County, said he was offended by Stanton’s comment, which he interpreted to mean the “murder and genocide of Jews in Nazi Germany. Of course, it’s not the first time people have said that sort of thing.”

Brin called the comparison both inappropriate and irrelevant, saying, “There’s little similarity between a legal process, however zealous it might be, and the subversion of that process by a totalitarian regime seeking to destroy an individual not for what he has done but simply for who he is.”

Steiner and Supervisor Don Saltarelli voted with Stanton to launch the financial review. Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson abstained from the vote, saying he hasn’t had enough time to study the issue since taking office five days ago.

But Supervisor Jim Silva voted against the proposal, suggesting that the board delay action until the grand jury review is completed. He also expressed concern about approving the audit without knowing exactly how much it would cost or who would conduct it.

“I don’t support a blank check for this kind of audit,” Silva said. “I cannot support a duplication of effort.”

Stanton first suggested the audit in September, when he publicly criticized Capizzi’s handling of the bankruptcy investigation. The probe resulted in criminal charges being filed against three county officials and civil misconduct charges against Stanton, Steiner and Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis.

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Stanton said all county departments should eventually be audited as a way of helping supervisors make budget decisions and giving the public a better sense of how taxpayer funds are used.

Capizzi said his office has not totaled the amount of money spent on the bankruptcy investigation. Prosecutors don’t normally record the cost of each case because they don’t bill the expenses to clients, as private law firms do, he said.

In August, the board approved a grand jury study of Capizzi’s office by Price Waterhouse, the same firm that handled an earlier study of the family support division.

Steiner said the new financial audit will focus on resource allocation issues while the Price Waterhouse inquiry will examine broader issues such as the office’s organizational structure and its performance compared to other counties.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Stanton decried the “abuse” and “vicious rumors” he said he has been subjected to over the last year, though he did not specifically identify the source of mistreatment.

“I’ve been cautioned in very hard terms from a number of people that I take a personal risk and subject myself to personal attacks by suggesting” the audit, he said. “I realize the affect this might have on my family.”

Capizzi said he was puzzled by Stanton’s statements. “I don’t know what he is talking about,” he added. “I think he is angry with what took place” regarding the prosecution.

While Stanton and Steiner were cleared by the appeals court, Lewis still faces misconduct charges.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Michael Granberry.