County Officials and the Law

* What is misconduct? Misconduct is two Orange County supervisors watching the county go down the tube, and a judge calling them the good guys and the district attorney the culprit (“Misconduct Charges Against Stanton and Steiner Dismissed,” Nov. 27).

KEITH BOILLOT

Santa Ana

* Regarding the dismissal of charges against Supervisors Roger R. Stanton and William G. Steiner, we have now seen first hand that it is better to spend over $200,000 of taxpayers’ money for your defense than to use the public defender when you are accused of some misdeed.

GENE P. MORRIS

Dove Canyon

* I am outraged at Dist. Atty. Michael Capizzi for basing misconduct charges on Supervisors Stanton and Steiner on the wrong issue. His incompetence has now led to the dismissal of the charges by the state court.

Every manager has underlings who screw up and cause problems. In theory, the manager is supposed to take the heat but in reality, another head usually rolls. Usually it is the underling’s.

The supervisors’ underling in this case was former County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron. That Citron was not monitored was, in my opinion, not criminal.

The criminal part, the misconduct, was the fact that Stanton and Steiner voted to file for bankruptcy.

As we now know, and as was reported in the Times, the portfolio on which they bailed would have been worth about $300 million more one year later than on the day they filed.

That is the basis for the charges. That is the misconduct.

STEVE SMITH

Costa Mesa

* It is ironic that The Times would highlight the Nov. 27 front page with charges dropped against two Orange County supervisors and a story about actions by the Huntington Beach Police Department having been declared unconstitutional in regard to 200 arrests last July 4.

Where the irony lies is that the district attorney spent millions to prosecute the supervisors for naught yet the district attorney was totally indifferent to 200 civil rights violations in one night.

And this guy wants to be state attorney general.

JOHN BOAG

Huntington Beach