O.C. Board Is Bullish Against Merrill Lynch

Make no mistake, the Orange County Board of Supervisors was unanimous in its opposition to using Merrill Lynch in any capacity whatsoever. Any potential business relationship Merrill Lynch has in mind with the county was outright rejected by all five supervisors.

Taxpayers have been forced to cover more than $900 million needed to bail the county out of bankruptcy as a result of the investment strategy used by former county Treasurer Robert M. Citron and Merrill Lynch. As I stated, I’m not remotely interested in input to our financial investment strategy from either Citron or Merrill Lynch. This action was a prudent and protective measure formalizing an already unwritten policy between current Treasurer-Tax Collector John M.W. Moorlach and this board. Now there can be no financial dealings with Merrill Lynch by anyone without board action and public discussion.

I smile when I see Moorlach’s stance on the matter. He has been in my office lobbying me to reconsider my personal policy of “no business with Merrill Lynch.” He even tried to sway me by claiming I would be the only supervisor not supportive of doing business with the brokerage house. I stood firm then and still do now. Merrill Lynch has no business in the county. Hopefully, Moorlach understands now that there is clearly no support for Merrill Lynch on this board, given the 5-0 vote against it.

Thomas W. Wilson

County Supervisor,

5th District

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Although The Times printed a correction, readers deserve clarification after the Aug. 14 report, “O.C. Renews Its Ties With Merrill Lynch.” Given the headline, readers now assume the county is prepared to do business with Merrill Lynch. Quite the opposite.

I carried this initiative to the Board of Supervisors to prevent the county treasurer from utilizing Merrill Lynch’s financial services. The board unanimously agreed to prohibit him from using Merrill Lynch without prior board approval. No one has forgotten Merrill Lynch’s role in the county’s bankruptcy. In fact, the firm’s track record has not improved: a $100-million fine in New York, top officials invoking the 5th Amendment before Congress in the Enron scandal and the Martha Stewart insider-trading allegations.

My advice to Merrill Lynch is not to take the headline or the article to heart. We know our county treasurer is pitching your products. However, not one member of the board is interested in having you back in the county. Spend your energy and resources cleaning up your corporate act. And by the way, you want to make a good start? How about paying us back the $1 billion you owe the citizens of our county, or maybe you can just cover our $93 million a year in principal and interest payments.

Todd Spitzer

County Supervisor,

3rd District