By KENNETH OFGANG
Staff Writer

An attorney representing Citrus Municipal Court Judge Patrick Murphy yesterday denied that the judge has any knowledge of being under investigation by prosecutorial agencies in connection with the disappearance or concealment of nearly $2 million--but the District Attorney's Office has confirmed that its probe is in progress.

Murphy's role in the movement of the funds is reportedly also being scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.

The denial by Diamond Bar sole practitioner Thomas Dovidio comes on the heels of confirmation by a spokeswoman for Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti.

"The investigation is continuing," Sandi Gibbons told the MetNews, declining to provide details.

Dovidio said Murphy "has not been contacted by any of those agencies" regarding allegations that he helped arrange the transfer of $1.855 million belonging to Dr. George Taus, a longtime friend of the judge who is now in bankruptcy, to Encino attorney Paul Ottosi.

Pieces in Puzzle

All of the pieces in the puzzle have not come together, and it is unclear whether the funds were placed with Ottosi to hide them from Taus' wife who was suing for divorce, secret them from Murphy's wife who is suing for divorce, conceal them from Taus' creditors, or for other reasons, perhaps wholly legitimate.

Neither Murphy nor his lawyer has been willing to discuss the matter.

Richard Seone, a lawyer for Taus, said Wednesday the money was "wrongfully taken" from their client during a period when Taus was suffering from clinical depression. He said it was "premature" to conclude that Murphy was culpable.

Ottosi has said he received the money in trust, having been asked by Murphy to act as a neutral custodian of funds whose ownership would be at issue in Murphy's impending divorce from Pasadena lawyer Susan Sweetman-Murphy. The lawyer has claimed he later transferred the entire amount, at the judge's request, to Maryanne Baumgarten, an Irwindale-based paralegal who once worked for Murphy when he was in law practice.

Baumgarten has not returned phone calls, but Newport Beach attorney Paul Jacobs, who formerly represented her--and once represented Murphy in an unrelated matter--said she told him that she transferred most of the money to Azusa attorney Stephen Alexander, on Murphy's instructions, and gave the rest to the judge.

Alexander has acknowledged in court papers that he kept $200,000 he received from Baumgarten, characterizing the funds as payment for services rendered. He is suing her for more money he says is owed.

The lawyer has not responded to messages left on his answering machine.

Several sources have reported contacts with investigators, including Jennifer Boone of the FBI's San Gabriel Valley office. Boone referred a request for information to the bureau's local media office, which acknowledged the request but has not responded.

Efforts to reach the Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service, with which Ottosi said he has had several contacts were unavailing.

Absent From Court

Dovidio said he has instructed Murphy not to speak with the MetNews. Murphy has been largely absent from court in recent weeks and didn't return MetNews phone calls on days when he was in.

(According to court records, as provided by Citrus Municipal Court Presiding Judge Rolf Treu, Murphy will have been absent from his duties 36.5 court days as of today, all but two of the absences being based on illness. Last year, the judge was away from court 92.5 days.)

Murphy, Ottosi, Taus, Baumgarten, and Alexander were named earlier this month as defendants in an action brought by Taus' bankruptcy trustee, who is seeking to recover the money on behalf of the doctor's creditors and obtain damages for conversion.

In a related action, Taus is being sued by two securities firms for liquidating community property accounts totaling nearly $1.3 million in September 1996, about three months before the alleged transfer of funds to Ottosi. Taus' lawyers, Jeffrey Karpel and Seone, have described their client as a victim in the matter.

"If [Taus] weren't in bankruptcy, we would be suing Baumgarten and Alexander right now," Seone said.