TIMELINE OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE ORANGE COUNTY BANKRUPTCY

1994

* Dec. 1 - Orange County officials announce that the county's $7.4 billion investment pool has experienced a "paper loss" of $1.5 billion.

* Dec. 4 - County Treasurer Robert L. Citron resigns under pressure from other officials.

* Dec. 6 - County officials seek protection under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code, the largest such filing in history.

* Dec. 13 - Salomon Brothers Inc., the county's newly hired financial adviser, begins selling off volatile securities in the investment pool, turning a "paper loss" into an actual loss.

1995

* Jan. 12 - The county files a $2 billion lawsuit against its former chief investment broker, Merrill Lynch & Co., accusing the firm of selling "illegal and improper" securities to the county.

* March 21 - John Moorlach, who had warned of the impending fiscal crisis months ahead of time, is appointed by the county Board of Supervisors to succeed Citron as county treasurer.

* April 27 - Citron pleads guilty to six felony counts of defrauding investors and misappropriating public funds. He is later sentenced to a year in jail, five years' probation, a $100,000 fine, and 1,000 hours of community service.

* June 15 - The county sells $278 million of "recovery bonds" in a first-of-its-kind debt offering by a bankrupt municipality.

* June 27 - County voters overwhelmingly defeat a proposed half-cent sales tax increase devised to bail the county out of bankruptcy and pay off county debts.

* July-August - The county defaults on $800 million of short-term notes; noteholders grudgingly agree to a one-year rollover.

* Dec. 20 - County attorneys file a $3 billion lawsuit against former outside auditor KPMG Peat Marwick for allegedly failing to warn county officials of the investment risks.

1996

* May 15 - U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John Ryan approves the county's fiscal recovery plan, paving the way for a relatively quick end to the Chapter 9 case.

* June 5 - The county sells nearly $1 billion of recovery bonds to pay off existing creditors.

* June 11 - County attorneys file additional fraud lawsuits against Standard & Poor's, Morgan Stanley & Co., LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & McRae, Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc., and the Student Loan Marketing Association.

* June 12 - The county emerges from bankruptcy protection.

* Nov. 20 - SEC files securities fraud and other charges against one of the county's former underwriters, CS First Boston.

1997

* May 4 - Jury convicts former Citron aide Matthew Raabe on five felony counts of fraud and misappropriation. He is later sentenced to three years in state prison. He is the only person involved in the saga to serve jail time.

* June 20 - Merrill Lynch agrees to pay the county $30 million to end a criminal probe into the firm's investment dealings with the county.

1998

* April - LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green & MacRae, the county's bond counsel prior to the bankruptcy, settles civil charges for $45 million.

* May - County settles with KMPG Peat Marwick for $75 million.

* June 3 - Merrill Lynch agrees to pay $400 million to settle civil suit brought by county.

* July 15 - County files civil suit against Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

* July 22 - Morgan Stanley and Nomura Securities settle for $116 million.

* November - Brown & Wood settles for $23 million.

1999

* June 7 - County settles with 20 individual firms for $20 million, leaving only its suit against Standard & Poor's pending.

* June 15 - County drops its suit against Standard & Poor's.