Jurors Complete Their First Day of Deliberations in Raabe Case

SANTA ANA — Jurors completed their first day of deliberations Wednesday in the trial of former Assistant Treasurer Matthew Raabe, who is charged with misappropriating public funds and securities law violations stemming from the county’s bankruptcy.

The jury of six men and six women began deliberating at 11:10 a.m. after Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey read them a long list of jury instructions.

Raabe, who observed his 41st birthday Wednesday, spent most of the day waiting with relatives in a hallway outside the courtroom.

He is charged with violating the state securities laws--for lying to cities, schools and special districts about the safety of their deposits in the county investment pool--and statutes covering the misappropriation of public funds--for skimming $90 million from their interest earnings for the county’s benefit.

If convicted, Raabe faces up to 13 years in state prison and $10 million in fines.

In presenting their case, prosecutors offered 22 witnesses who testified that Raabe hatched the scheme to skim money from the accounts of outside depositors, and determined on a regular basis how much money would be diverted.

The money was transferred into a county account, allegedly to conceal from outside investors the highly risky--and sometimes highly lucrative--investment strategy then-Treasurer Robert L. Citron pursued in managing the pool’s $7-billion portfolio.

Raabe’s attorneys have insisted he did nothing wrong because the treasurer’s office, which managed the $7-billion portfolio, had the right to decide how much interest the 187 cities, schools and special districts got on their deposits.