Recycling Scandal: Every Chapter Is Messier

The plot thickens in the continuing saga of Orange’s recycling scandal, which increasingly reads like a dime-store novel. An independent paving contractor recently went public with a story of cashing piles of checks given him by the city’s recycling contractor. He described himself as emerging from a restaurant where he had cashed the checks with money stashed in his boots and pockets--money that should have gone into city coffers. In return, he said, he got work steered to him by the recycling contractor.

This is the latest chapter in the scandal, in which the Orange County district attorney’s office and the IRS are probing alleged misappropriation of more than $6 million in recycling revenue. Although the investigation is continuing, there are enough questions about the entire program now that city officials wisely are looking at ways of finding the exit door. These include changing the way rates are paid, shortening the contract terms and renegotiating ambiguous contract issues.

The point is that the criminal investigation has been dragging on, and the city needs to take steps to reform the contracting system and to protect itself. In the process, it can send a signal to residents that it is determined to change the way business is done in the future.

Meanwhile, the paving contractor, Mark S. Dix, has been granted limited immunity by prosecutors for telling how he took part in check laundering, according to his attorney. The latest developments are further embarrassment for the city, which has been hard-pressed to defend its self-described “public-private partnership.” The city effectively gave the Hambarian family a $9.5-million trash processing plant in 1993 with the understanding that Orange would receive 90% of the recycling revenue until at least 2000.

As the story becomes more complicated and messier, taxpayers understandably are getting more restless. The need for speedy reform becomes more evident, and the city’s apparent resolve to find an answer is laudable.