Former Orange County sheriff faces felony sentence

[Tom98915]

Former Calif. sheriff faces felony sentence

AP NEWS
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press Writer – 10:00am Apr 27, 2009

SANTA ANA, Calif. – It's been more than five years since federal prosecutors began building their sweeping public corruption case against former Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona.

Now, with sentencing at hand later Monday, the disgraced lawman and one-time rising GOP star is about to find out how much longer his legal ordeal will last.

Prosecutors are pressing for nine years in prison when Carona is sentenced on a single felony count of witness tampering, while the defense wants only probation. Probation officials have recommended 6 1/2 years behind bars.

Carona, once head of the nation's fifth-largest sheriff's department, will likely appeal any sentence that is not probation, his attorneys have said. He also has petitioned to remain free while appealing his conviction.

In a letter to the court unsealed Friday, Carona sought leniency from U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford. Carona's letter was one of 71 letters submitted on his behalf.

Carona did not discuss his conviction except to say he regrets having the conversation that led to the charge and was "completely humbled" by the trial.

Whatever the judge decides, the hearing will mark the end of a legal saga that has captivated the public with its soap opera-like plot since the sheriff was first indicted in October 2007. He stepped down three months later.

Indicted with Carona were his wife and his longtime mistress. The government has since dropped charges against both women.

Jurors ultimately rejected the heart of the government's case in January, after a 10-week trial that featured a parade of five dozen witnesses, including a former assistant sheriff who testified for the prosecution in exchange for a plea deal.

Prosecutors had alleged conspiracy and multiple counts of mail fraud and witness tampering in a case that included allegations of pay-to-play schemes and money laundering.

Government attorneys also tried to show another side of the publicly charming sheriff by playing secretly recorded conversations in which Carona frequently used sexual and racial slurs and spoke lightly about his longtime affair.

The government charged that as early as 1998, the three-term lawman solicited the help of multimillionaire businessman Don Haidl to launder at least $30,000 in campaign contributions.

Once elected, Carona rewarded Haidl with the post of assistant sheriff and control over a new reserve deputy program that allowed him to hand out law enforcement badges to his friends, relatives and associates, the government said.

The prosecution contended that Haidl's gifts to Carona exceeded $430,000 over several years.

Haidl eventually became a government informant, along with another former assistant sheriff and Carona's one-time campaign manager. Both men were named as unindicted coconspirators in the grand jury indictment against Carona and reached plea deals with federal prosecutors early on.

Haidl wore a wire to three meetings with Carona in summer 2007, producing hours of profanity-laced audio tapes that were repeatedly played for the jury. Haidl also spent 10 days on the witness stand, although Jaramillo did not testify.


Former Calif. sheriff faces felony sentence