The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 86

B8 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1996 LOS ANGELES TIMES ORANGE COUNTY Bond Group Opposes County in Court Case of 2nd Bankruptcy Figure Assigned to Judge Czuleger county. Rubino has denied any wrongdoing. Citron, who pleaded guilty last year to six felonies stem- ming from his management of the investment pool he ran for the county, had his Feb. 23 sentencing postponed last week by Czuleger. The judge delayed the sen- 5 tencing to give Citron more time to assist prosecutors in i their continuing investigation of the county's Dec.

6, 1994 bankruptcy. Czuleger was asked to pre-side over the two bankruptcy-related cases after Orange County's presiding judge ruled 4 that potential conflicts of inter- est demand that the county's entire judicial bench be dis- qualified. SANTA ANA-The same Los Angeles judge who has been appointed to handle the sentencing of former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron was assigned Monday to oversee the criminal case of the county's former budget director. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J.

Stephen Czuleger will handle former Budget Director Ronald Rubino's arraignment scheduled for Feb. 16, court officials said. Rubino, 44, faces two felony counts of aiding and abetting Citron in skimming into a county account more than $80 million of interest earnings belonging to schools, special districts and cities that had entrusted their money to the FUNERAL: Friends Pay Last Respects Continued from Bl thinking about his family, his friends and his future." Nguyen said in a eulogy 'that she had noticed a in Ly's voice when she jlast spoke with him a few weeks ago. "I meant to call him to ihave a heart-to-heart talk," jNguyen said. "On the night his death, I had picked up jthe phone to call him when my husband came home, so I iput off the call.

My husband land I then sat down to eat dinner, and while I was working on my first bowl of rice, the phone rang. It was my son calling to tell me that jThienisdead. "I wish I could give him lone more hug. I miss him." Several students who knew Ly from UCLA spoke of the first time they met him land read poems written for ihim "because he loved po-'etry," said Mai The two-hour event ended with a procession of mourners, each holding a flower. They tossed their last token of love at the casket.

Ly's father, still clutching his son's photo, let out a wail as he watched the flowers pile up. i 1 A I -f Bankruptcy: Securities underwriters association asks judge to reject key argument in lawsuit against Merrill Lynch. By DA VAN MAHARAJ TIMES STAFF WRITER SANTA ANA A bond market trade group on Monday asked a judge to reject Orange County's key argument that former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron illegally gambled billions of dollars when he entered into reverse repurchase agreements with Merrill Lynch Co. In legal documents, the Public Securities Assn.

said the county's position if successful could threaten the "integrity and efficiency of the repurchase agreement market." The association's comments were contained in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan, who is hearing the county's $2-billion lawsuit against Merrill Lynch. The county's suit alleges that Merrill Lynch duped Citron into purchasing risky securities in violation of state law. It also contends that the transactions, particularly reverse repurchase agreements, forced the county to exceed the amount of debt it could legally incur under the state's constitution.

According to the county's lawsuit, Merrill Lynch sold Orange County 68 of the securities in the $21 -billion investment portfolio, which included $14 billion bought with borrowed money. The county used virtually all of this borrowed money to engage in reverse repurchase agreements. In such a transaction, the seller pro- vides both the credit and securities being purchased and agrees to repurchase the same securities for a specified price at a future date. Merrill Lynch officials have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Brokerage officials have insisted that Citron made his own decisions and that he was supported by the county's Board of Supervisors.

In its legal brief, the association said a ruling for the county could also "discourage securities dealers from engaging in transactions with" other municipalities. Merrill Lynch is a prominent member of the trade group, which represents securities firms and banks that underwrite bonds. County lawyers did not return calls seeking comment. ALSCHABEN Los Angeles Times Anh Dao Pham, 18, takes a moment to herself at the funeral of Thien Minh Ly, who was stabbed a week ago at Tustin High School. INSTANT CASIfi FAME F00 voun lEUELRY Continued from Bl ml.

Uuiill XjR0LEX WATCEE3 Regardless of Condition We Also Take Consignment. Internet. At the suggestion of his mom, he prepared for battle. Kevin, an Otter Pops purist who eats three of the treats after school every day, could not stand the idea of a new flavor; the six flavors had stayed the same since the days he teethed on Otter Pops as a baby. National Pax officials said they did not have the heart to ice Sir Isaac after Kevin, three cousins and eight other family members marched with protest signs, colored with crayons and markers.

Kevin and his grade-school cousins also presented the company1 with 130 petition signatures that they gathered during two weeks of that his overly sprayed hair would flop. It did. Leno, who had sent a gift basket full of toys to Kevin's dressing room, dropped by to say hi and throw mock punches. "Hey buddy, this will be fun," Leno said, before turning on his heels. "Is Tori here yet?" Leno asked an assistant, and then he was gone.

Kevin made headlines when he won the battle to keep Sir Isaac Lime in the Otter Pops six-pack. The company had been within days of starting production on Scarlett O'Cherry, officials said. Kevin heard the bad news from the Otter Pops home page on the World Wide Web, an arm of the T.V. COMMERCIALS VOICE OVERS ActorDirector Gordon Jump of "WKRP' fame extends an invitation to you for a FREE CLASS on this exciting field. Increase your earning power by appearing on and Radio ads.

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when a black limousine picked up Kevin and his mother, 28-year-old Amy Kee Cordova, and stepfather, 30-year-old Daniel Cordova. His mother clutched her "Beverly Hills 90210" lunch box in hope of catching Spelling for her autograph. His nervous parents, armed with a video camera, prepped him beforehand. Belt or no belt? They decided no belt. Hands in pocket or not? They decided not.

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Currently, the neighboring cities of Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Dana Point and San Clemente regulate the businesses through their zoning ordinances, Tomlinson said. Meanwhile, city officials will closely monitor other cities facing similar problems, including Newport Beach. Last month, six massage businesses filed a lawsuit against that city, alleging that a 1994 law regulating their operations was an attempt to shut them down. "We're watching their litigation to see how it goes," Denhalter said. "We don't want to reinvent the wheel on this." Continued from Bl years.

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