Obituaries

OBIT: OC's Top Administrator During the Bankruptcy Years

Ernie Schneider, 66, died Saturday in his San Juan Capistrano home.

San Juan Capistrano resident Ernie Schneider, Orange County’s top administrator back when the county declared bankruptcy in 1994, died Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Schneider was 66. The Times attributed the death to liver and kidney problems.

The chief administrative officer was appointed to the county’s highest position in 1989. He was in charge when it came to light that then-Treasurer Robert L. Citron’s oversight of the county’s investment portfolio led to the loss of $1.64 billion.

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At the time, it was the country's largest governmental bankruptcy (which has since been surpassed in 2011 by Alabama's Jefferson County).

Citron died in January.

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Schneider was unceremoniously demoted in 1995.

"Ernie never really recovered from the bankruptcy," Pat Sudds, his 81-year-old former secretary, told the Times. "He felt he was a scapegoat for things that others did. He spent the rest of his life trying to serve the people again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."


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