.

.. and more on the way!

Before The Watchdog tells you what she went through trying to find out how much the county was paying in retirement pensions to lawmen-gone-wild Mike Carona and George Jaramillo, let’s talk about a fellow named Bob Citron.

Since the former county treasurer/tax collector retired in 1994 - later pleading guilty to six felonies (lying to investors, falsifying the county’s books, diverting $89 million in interest away from cities, schools and other governments into county coffers) - Citron has been paid more than $1.3 million by the Orange County Employees Retirement System.

That’s the total of his $92,904-a-year pension, from 1995 until the middle of 2008. (For the record, Citron earned $50.17 per hour, or $8,696 per month, or $104,354 per year.)

REMEMBER BOB?

He invested billions of government dollars in risky investments, nobly aiming for the greatest returns for taxpayers. The money poured in for a while - so much so that he and his assistant, Matt Raabe, skimmed that $89 million off the top in an attempt to keep people from asking too many questions. That $89 million enriched the financially struggling county instead of the cities, school and special districts it belonged to. 

When Citron’s investments went south, county officials panicked, declared bankruptcy, and sold Citron’s risky investments at fire sale prices. Local governments lost $1.64 billion. Ouch. There’s still argument about whether this was the wisest thing to do; but whatever. It’s done.

AND HIS SIDEKICK

Raabe was convicted of fraud and misappropriation of public funds and was sentenced to three years in prison. He spent 41 days behind bars before being freed pending appeal. An appeals court later overturned his convictions, saying the district attorney had a conflict of interest and should not have prosecuted him (all county departments, including the D.A.’s, suffered after the bankruptcy).

Anyway, Raabe moved to Northern California and started a new life. He worked for the county for 7.5 years and made $39.03 per hour, or $6,765 per month, or $81,182 per year when he was canned in 1995, after the Board of Supervisors discovered that misplaced $89 million.  Just 37 years old, he was too young to collect retirement payments….

CRIMINALS MOSTLY OK

Good news for Jaramillo (and maybe Carona, although of course he is innocent until yada yada yada): Criminal convictions are largely irrelevant to public pension payouts. 

Here are the conditions under which an elected official’s felony conviction(s) might impact his golden years, according to Julie Wyne, assistant CEO of the Orange County Employees Retirement system:

1. The officer must have taken office or been re-elected on or after Jan. 1, 2006;

2. The felony conviction must relate to a bribe, embezzlement, extortion, or theft of public money while in office, or conspiracy to commit such crimes;

3. The forfeiture is only for rights and benefits earned after Jan. 1, 2006;

4. If forfeiture occurs, the elected official loses membership rights and any benefit accrual after Jan. 1, 2006. The member contributions, without interest, are returned to the public official for the period of the forfeited service;

5. The governing body of the public officer’s employer (in this case, the County Board of Supervisors) can authorize the public officer to receive the forfeited service and benefits if it chooses (italics mine).

(Find all this in Government Code Sections 1243 and 31563.)

So, Carona could conceivably lose *some* of his pension if he’s convicted or pleads guilty. Come back tomorrow to read the incredible true tale of the pensions of lawmen-gone-wild Carona and Jaramillo.

Posted in: Money |

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