Ex-Wife to Aid Probe of Supervisor Roth

SANTA ANA —  Outraged by Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth’s defense in new conflict-of-interest allegations, the 71-year-old official’s ex-wife said Friday that she plans to rebut his “lies” by cooperating fully with authorities investigating Roth.

Roth’s attorney had said Thursday that the supervisor had little to do with thousands of dollars in free or undervalued additions the couple received at their Anaheim Hills home in 1990 because the upgrades had been requested by Jackie Roth, the supervisor’s wife at the time.

But Jackie Roth said in an interview Friday that for Roth “to act oblivious to this is nonsense.” She said Roth was directly involved in talking to the home builder--Presley Co. of Southern California--about enlarging their family room at the time of construction, among other improvements.

“I am not the one that handled it. I am not the one that was out playing golf with (Presley President) Bob Albertson. Don handled it,” she said.

Jackie Roth said she has spoken with the district attorney about her ex-husband only reluctantly in recent months, declining to discuss some issues. But she changed her position Friday after the jabs taken by Roth’s attorney, Dana Reed.

“Why should I try to save his neck?” she asked. Jackie Roth added that she called her ex-husband Friday morning to voice her anger, telling him, “This time you have gone too far.” She said she hung up before he could respond.

District attorney’s officials declined to discuss the issue Friday. Roth also refused comment, saying: “See my attorney.”

Asked about Jackie Roth’s comments, Reed said: “We’d rather see this whole thing go away, obviously. . . . But I think it would be helpful to get all of the information under oath. I don’t think Supervisor Roth has anything to hide, and if Jackie Roth wants to testify under oath, that’s fine.”

The district attorney’s office has been investigating allegations of influence peddling against Roth since April and is known to have focused in recent weeks on the couple’s $348,669 home in an upscale community in Anaheim Hills.

The Times disclosed Friday that the Roths paid $3,700 for a series of expansions and upgrades at the new home that remodeling experts said were probably worth more than $15,000. Several of the changes were made after the house was virtually completed, requiring workers to knock down walls in the family room and the dining room.

Officials said the improvements could cause more legal problems for Roth because the work was not reported to the state as a gift, and because Roth voted on matters involving Presley four times in the one-year period after the couple moved into their new home.

Under the state’s Political Reform Act, local officials are banned from voting on matters affecting anyone who has given them gifts worth more than $250 during the preceding 12 months.

Roth and the future of his powerful seat on the Board of Supervisors have been the subject of widespread speculation in recent months, as new allegations have surfaced about trips, stock, an $8,500 loan and other gifts he has received from local business people.

But supporters of Roth said the public should await the findings of the district attorney’s investigation before passing judgment.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said the most unfortunate aspect of the issue was the public rift and verbal feuding between the Roths, who separated in mid-1990 and then were engaged in a bitter court battle over the divorce agreement, which became final in November, 1991.

Jackie Roth maintained in an interview that Roth’s attorney, Reed, fired the first salvo when he told The Times in an article published Friday that the improvements were “all Jackie’s deal.”

Jackie Roth said that as a result of Reed’s comments, she spoke with her attorney Friday and decided that she would cooperate more willingly with authorities than she had in the past.