Raabe to Undergo Pre-Sentence Study in Prison

SANTA ANA — Matthew R. Raabe, the former assistant county treasurer convicted last week of five felonies stemming from the Orange County bankruptcy, will spend up to 90 days in the diagnostic unit of a state prison for a pre-sentencing study that will help a judge decide his punishment.

Until arrangements are made for him to enter Chino State Prison in San Bernardino County, where an extensive pre-sentencing evaluation will be conducted, Raabe, 41, remains free on $25,000 bail.

“I’m comfortable that Mr. Raabe is going to look good in any probation or diagnostic report,” said Gary Pohlson, his lead defense attorney. “He’s a solid citizen.”

Raabe’s conviction Friday for misappropriating public funds and securities fraud could make him the first Orange County official to face prison for crimes arising from the county’s bankruptcy.

Raabe’s boss, former Treasurer Robert L. Citron, pleaded guilty in 1995 to the same charges that Raabe faced--charges that carried prison terms of more than 13 years and fines up to $10 million. But Citron’s pre-sentencing report took note of his age, 71, and recommended against prison.

Citron is serving a one-year jail sentence in a work-release program that has him performing clerical work for the county jail during the day and spending his nights at home.

The only other official who faced criminal charges was former budget director Ronald S. Rubino. After a jury deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of acquitting him on the two felony charges that he faced, Rubino pleaded no contest to a single felony and was sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours of community service.

If Raabe does receive a prison sentence, the time spent at Chino for the diagnostic study would be subtracted from that total, said Superior Court Judge Everett Dickey.