We're out! Orange County pays final bankruptcy bill on July 1. The ride's been wild
There was the homeless man in a miniskirt and fishnet stockings who stuffed oranges in his brassiere and wielded a plunger – a reminder that Orange County was going down the drain.
There was the eccentric forensic accountant who pushed recalls against officials who had already agreed to leave office, hordes of enraged anti-tax activists who shouted down county supervisors, “Killer Bees” – cities like Buena Park, Santa Barbara, Claremont and Montebello – who refused to tow the line.
Then there was Robert “Bob” Citron himself, self-proclaimed “master of the ship at the helm” and former Orange County treasurer, who had a strong affinity for Navajo jewelry, a collection of 300 ties that he rarely wore, authored 14-page odes to Chrysler automobiles, and consulted psychics and a $4.50 star chart as he managed a highly-leveraged investment pool with billions of dollars belonging to schools, cities and the county itself.
Citron bet wrong on interest rates. There was a run on the bank. His investment pool lost $1.64 billion. And county officials fled into federal bankruptcy court.
Read more: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/06/30/no-bankruptcy-as-colorful-as-o-c-s-last-bond-debt-payment-made/