Jury Selection Underway in Long-Delayed Raabe Trial

SANTA ANA — Jury selection for the long-delayed trial of Orange County’s former assistant treasurer on bankruptcy-related charges began with a loud groan Wednesday, when the judge told prospective jurors the case could last until mid-May.

Still, nearly a third of the first 150 jurors called in the case of the People vs. Matthew R. Raabe indicated that the lengthy proceeding might not pose a problem for them, and they filled out a short questionnaire. The others were excused.

The 40-year-old accountant faces five felony counts of fraud and misappropriation of funds--the same charges to which his former boss, Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, pleaded guilty. Citron is now serving a one-year jail sentence in a work-release program that allows him to spend his nights at home.

Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey told jurors “the case does involve a lot of witnesses and documents,” but he gave them only scant details about the alleged crimes.

Raabe was accused of crimes, the judge said, that “have to do with record keeping, misappropriation of public funds [and] misrepresentation.”

But in admonishing jurors to avoid media accounts of the bankruptcy, Dickey told them that “Mr. Raabe is not accused of causing the Orange County bankruptcy.”

To seat the 12-person panel, the court plans to process four groups of 150 prospective jurors, winnowing for further questioning those whose lives and jobs can accommodate a two-month trial.

The smaller group will return to court next Monday for the customary questioning by both defense attorneys and prosecutors, who expect to finish choosing the jury next week.

Raabe was indicted by the Orange County grand jury in May 1995, and has repeatedly maintained that he was just a loyal subordinate following Citron’s orders.

While Raabe was serving as assistant treasurer, the county’s highly leveraged investment pool plunged in value as interest rates began to rise in 1994, eventually causing $1.64 billion in trading losses and forcing the county into bankruptcy.

Raabe was accused in grand jury testimony of actively participating in a scheme to defraud the 200 school districts, cities and small agencies that invested in the county-run pool, which was managed by Citron.