dmax
January 13th, 2009, 12:10 AM
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-01/44389165.jpgNow, how would you like to have this kind of power? I mean, who in the fuck did this guy think he was? This is bazarre!
Prosecutors on Tuesday painted a disturbing picture of former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona's management of California's second-largest sheriff's department, citing testimony that he accepted secret cash payments, had numerous illicit sexual affairs, and provided badges and concealed weapons licenses to campaign contributors.
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Atty. Kenneth Julian told a jury of 11 men and one woman that Carona sold his office to Newport Beach businessman Donald Haidl even before he was elected, promising Haidl full access to the department in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.
In addition, Julian said, Haidl allowed Carona to use his private jet and yacht, bought him custom-tailored suits, gave him a powerboat and then started paying him $1,000 a month in cash, money the sheriff told Haidl he used to buy jewelry for his mistress and to pay rent on an office in which they had sex.
"He's getting a taste of wealth and he likes it," Julian said.
At the start of his closing argument, defense lawyer Jeffrey Rawitz told jurors that Haidl -- who has pleaded guilty to tax charges -- falsely accused Carona to win a lenient sentence. Rawitz is expected to complete his argument today.
"They all understand the game. The game is to lay it all on Mike," Rawitz said during the first hour of his closing before court adjourned for the day. "They all lie because they have to implicate Mr. Carona in things he was not implicated in."
Julian said Haidl was thrilled to have the power of a badge and the connections to assist those close to him. Although he took the assistant sheriff job as a volunteer, Haidl did receive a county car valued at about $5,000 per year. The car was outfitted with emergency lights and siren.
"This is a cop car you can drive around Newport Beach drunk as a skunk and nobody's going to stop you," Julian said. "You shouldn't be able to buy that."
Carona, 53, is charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and witness tampering for allegedly attempting to persuade Haidl to lie to a federal grand jury. If convicted of all charges, he could be sentenced to more than five years in prison. He has been free on bond throughout the proceedings.
After he was elected, Carona asked the Board of Supervisors to ease county requirements that would have prevented the inexperienced Haidl from being an assistant sheriff.
"He didn't tell the Board of Supervisors he was receiving cash payments from Don Haidl. He didn't tell the Board of Supervisors he cheated to win the election," Julian said. "Your common sense tells you if he did tell them, they wouldn't have changed the rules."
The Santa Ana courtroom of U.S. Dist. Judge Andrew J. Guilford was filled to capacity during the summations, with dozens of people following proceedings by live video in a second courtroom. The case, which has lasted two months, could end up in the jury's hands this afternoon.
While making his point to jurors, Julian identified a stream of benefits that Haidl allegedly paid Carona. More than $300,000 went to Carona's mistress, Debra V. Hoffman, to help her struggling law firm. She and Carona's wife, Deborah, are awaiting a separate trial.
"In a free market economy, something is worth what the buyer is willing to pay the seller," Julian said. "In this case, Don Haidl shelled out $430,000 to the willing seller and that is Mike Carona."
When Haidl's teenage son was arrested in a highly publicized sexual assault case, Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo lobbied Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas to try the boy in Juvenile Court. Although Jaramillo was unsuccessful, the case illustrated the influence that Haidl had purchased, Julian said.
During a final argument that lasted three hours and 20 minutes, Julian punctuated his points by playing excerpts from a secretly recorded conversation in which Carona and Haidl discussed cash payments and concern about the ongoing federal investigation.
The secret recording, which Haidl made as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, was a focal point of the government's case against Carona. During the lunch meeting, Carona reassured Haidl that nothing was traceable -- "Not even close to being a trail," he said. He also asked whether Haidl's company photocopied its cash.
"There's only one reason why Michael Carona would be concerned about copying serial numbers on cash and that's because he got the cash," Julian said.
At one point in the conversation, Carona told Haidl that he was not concerned about the federal investigation and that he slept real well at night.
"The reason Mike Carona sleeps real well at night . . . up to this moment in his life, he has lied, he has cheated, and he has gotten away with it. No consequences. It has worked before," Julian said.
He said Haidl was a straightforward and believable witness whose accounts have remained consistent and are supported by the recording.
"Under cross-examination for five days, his testimony did not change," Julian said.
Carona resigned in January 2008 after serving nine years as sheriff. The Board of Supervisors appointed Sandra Hutchens, a former executive with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, as his replacement. Her term expires in 2010.
Since taking office, Hutchens has moved to repair the department's tarnished image. She recalled badges that Carona had issued to volunteer deputies and prepared to withdraw hundreds of concealed weapons permits approved by her predecessor. Many of the people issued weapons permits had made financial contributions to Carona's campaigns.
Attorneys were expected to conclude closing arguments today and allow jurors to begin deliberations.http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-carona7-2009jan07,0,885508.story
UPDATE:http://images.ocregister.com/newsimages/2009/01/29/b78463258z120090129114142000g5lgbp6v1_lg.jpgDebora h Carona and Debra Hoffman say they were unfairly targeted. A judge dismisses cases against them.
By LARRY WELBORN and RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register
Comments 4 (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/carona-charges-hoffman-2294067-judge-sentence#slComments) | Recommend (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:recommendReview%28%27OCRArticle2294067%27%29) 1
SANTA ANA --The wife of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona and his former mistress spoke out today against the government's prosecution of them, calling the corruption charges unfounded and saying their lives have been devastated.
During a hearing this morning, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford made no comment when he granted the government's motion to dismiss charges against Deborah Carona, 57, and Debra Hoffman, 42, "in the interests of justice."
"This has been a horrific time … to be charged with what I think are baseless charges," Deborah Carona told U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford. "This has really tortured me … (and) has been a huge burden for my family."
Outside the courthouse, Deborah Carona, a former Orange County probation officer, said: "I absolutely believe that I was used as a pawn and a hostage to try to continue to put pressure on my husband, either to take a deal or to embarrass him during the trial."
She hugged her husband as they left the courtroom to face a bank of television and newspaper cameras.
Hoffman — also speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse — said prosecutors offered her a deal in December 2007 to corroborate their investigation into Carona. She said she rejected their offer, because she stood "for truth and justice."
Hoffman said she has been devastated by the case.
"I was wrongfully accused. I was simply collateral damage," Hoffman said, reading from a prepared statement.
During the hearing this morning, Guilford made no comment when he granted the government's to dismiss charges against Deborah Carona, 57, and Hoffman, 42, "in the interests of justice."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Julian said his office sought the dismissal in light of the verdicts earlier this month where Carona – who was Orange County's top cop for nine years before he was indicted in October 2007 – was acquitted of five public corruption charges and convicted of one witness tampering charge.
Julian and co-prosecutor Brett Sagel said afterward that they felt they had sufficient evidence to convict of Debra Carona and Hoffman of conspiracy, but that it would not be in the interest of justice to convict them when Carona, 53, was acquitted of the same charges.
Mike Carona, who resigned his post as sheriff in January 2008 to help his attorneys prepare his defense, said he was "extremely thankful" that charges were dismissed.
"It gives us the opportunity to get on with our lives," he added. "They never should have been a part of this case in the first place."
Carona faces a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years in prison. Julian said he will file a motion asking for the judge to sentence Carona to three to five years in prison. Carona's attorney, Brian Sun, said he will seek a sentence of probation – or to have the judge set aside the conviction. The defense team will also seek a new trial.
Carona's sentencing is scheduled for April 27. A conference on his sentencing and other post-trial issues is set for March 20.
Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and former prosecutor, said Guilford can consider the evidence introduced on the public corruption charges and any other reliable information when he sentences Carona for witness tampering.
She said if jurors acquitted Carona because the overt acts of a conspiracy were beyond a statute of limitations, the judge could consider that when he decides his sentence.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/carona-charges-hoffman-2294067-judge-sentence
Prosecutors on Tuesday painted a disturbing picture of former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona's management of California's second-largest sheriff's department, citing testimony that he accepted secret cash payments, had numerous illicit sexual affairs, and provided badges and concealed weapons licenses to campaign contributors.
In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Atty. Kenneth Julian told a jury of 11 men and one woman that Carona sold his office to Newport Beach businessman Donald Haidl even before he was elected, promising Haidl full access to the department in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.
In addition, Julian said, Haidl allowed Carona to use his private jet and yacht, bought him custom-tailored suits, gave him a powerboat and then started paying him $1,000 a month in cash, money the sheriff told Haidl he used to buy jewelry for his mistress and to pay rent on an office in which they had sex.
"He's getting a taste of wealth and he likes it," Julian said.
At the start of his closing argument, defense lawyer Jeffrey Rawitz told jurors that Haidl -- who has pleaded guilty to tax charges -- falsely accused Carona to win a lenient sentence. Rawitz is expected to complete his argument today.
"They all understand the game. The game is to lay it all on Mike," Rawitz said during the first hour of his closing before court adjourned for the day. "They all lie because they have to implicate Mr. Carona in things he was not implicated in."
Julian said Haidl was thrilled to have the power of a badge and the connections to assist those close to him. Although he took the assistant sheriff job as a volunteer, Haidl did receive a county car valued at about $5,000 per year. The car was outfitted with emergency lights and siren.
"This is a cop car you can drive around Newport Beach drunk as a skunk and nobody's going to stop you," Julian said. "You shouldn't be able to buy that."
Carona, 53, is charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and witness tampering for allegedly attempting to persuade Haidl to lie to a federal grand jury. If convicted of all charges, he could be sentenced to more than five years in prison. He has been free on bond throughout the proceedings.
After he was elected, Carona asked the Board of Supervisors to ease county requirements that would have prevented the inexperienced Haidl from being an assistant sheriff.
"He didn't tell the Board of Supervisors he was receiving cash payments from Don Haidl. He didn't tell the Board of Supervisors he cheated to win the election," Julian said. "Your common sense tells you if he did tell them, they wouldn't have changed the rules."
The Santa Ana courtroom of U.S. Dist. Judge Andrew J. Guilford was filled to capacity during the summations, with dozens of people following proceedings by live video in a second courtroom. The case, which has lasted two months, could end up in the jury's hands this afternoon.
While making his point to jurors, Julian identified a stream of benefits that Haidl allegedly paid Carona. More than $300,000 went to Carona's mistress, Debra V. Hoffman, to help her struggling law firm. She and Carona's wife, Deborah, are awaiting a separate trial.
"In a free market economy, something is worth what the buyer is willing to pay the seller," Julian said. "In this case, Don Haidl shelled out $430,000 to the willing seller and that is Mike Carona."
When Haidl's teenage son was arrested in a highly publicized sexual assault case, Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo lobbied Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas to try the boy in Juvenile Court. Although Jaramillo was unsuccessful, the case illustrated the influence that Haidl had purchased, Julian said.
During a final argument that lasted three hours and 20 minutes, Julian punctuated his points by playing excerpts from a secretly recorded conversation in which Carona and Haidl discussed cash payments and concern about the ongoing federal investigation.
The secret recording, which Haidl made as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, was a focal point of the government's case against Carona. During the lunch meeting, Carona reassured Haidl that nothing was traceable -- "Not even close to being a trail," he said. He also asked whether Haidl's company photocopied its cash.
"There's only one reason why Michael Carona would be concerned about copying serial numbers on cash and that's because he got the cash," Julian said.
At one point in the conversation, Carona told Haidl that he was not concerned about the federal investigation and that he slept real well at night.
"The reason Mike Carona sleeps real well at night . . . up to this moment in his life, he has lied, he has cheated, and he has gotten away with it. No consequences. It has worked before," Julian said.
He said Haidl was a straightforward and believable witness whose accounts have remained consistent and are supported by the recording.
"Under cross-examination for five days, his testimony did not change," Julian said.
Carona resigned in January 2008 after serving nine years as sheriff. The Board of Supervisors appointed Sandra Hutchens, a former executive with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, as his replacement. Her term expires in 2010.
Since taking office, Hutchens has moved to repair the department's tarnished image. She recalled badges that Carona had issued to volunteer deputies and prepared to withdraw hundreds of concealed weapons permits approved by her predecessor. Many of the people issued weapons permits had made financial contributions to Carona's campaigns.
Attorneys were expected to conclude closing arguments today and allow jurors to begin deliberations.http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-carona7-2009jan07,0,885508.story
UPDATE:http://images.ocregister.com/newsimages/2009/01/29/b78463258z120090129114142000g5lgbp6v1_lg.jpgDebora h Carona and Debra Hoffman say they were unfairly targeted. A judge dismisses cases against them.
By LARRY WELBORN and RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register
Comments 4 (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/carona-charges-hoffman-2294067-judge-sentence#slComments) | Recommend (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:recommendReview%28%27OCRArticle2294067%27%29) 1
SANTA ANA --The wife of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona and his former mistress spoke out today against the government's prosecution of them, calling the corruption charges unfounded and saying their lives have been devastated.
During a hearing this morning, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford made no comment when he granted the government's motion to dismiss charges against Deborah Carona, 57, and Debra Hoffman, 42, "in the interests of justice."
"This has been a horrific time … to be charged with what I think are baseless charges," Deborah Carona told U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford. "This has really tortured me … (and) has been a huge burden for my family."
Outside the courthouse, Deborah Carona, a former Orange County probation officer, said: "I absolutely believe that I was used as a pawn and a hostage to try to continue to put pressure on my husband, either to take a deal or to embarrass him during the trial."
She hugged her husband as they left the courtroom to face a bank of television and newspaper cameras.
Hoffman — also speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse — said prosecutors offered her a deal in December 2007 to corroborate their investigation into Carona. She said she rejected their offer, because she stood "for truth and justice."
Hoffman said she has been devastated by the case.
"I was wrongfully accused. I was simply collateral damage," Hoffman said, reading from a prepared statement.
During the hearing this morning, Guilford made no comment when he granted the government's to dismiss charges against Deborah Carona, 57, and Hoffman, 42, "in the interests of justice."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Julian said his office sought the dismissal in light of the verdicts earlier this month where Carona – who was Orange County's top cop for nine years before he was indicted in October 2007 – was acquitted of five public corruption charges and convicted of one witness tampering charge.
Julian and co-prosecutor Brett Sagel said afterward that they felt they had sufficient evidence to convict of Debra Carona and Hoffman of conspiracy, but that it would not be in the interest of justice to convict them when Carona, 53, was acquitted of the same charges.
Mike Carona, who resigned his post as sheriff in January 2008 to help his attorneys prepare his defense, said he was "extremely thankful" that charges were dismissed.
"It gives us the opportunity to get on with our lives," he added. "They never should have been a part of this case in the first place."
Carona faces a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years in prison. Julian said he will file a motion asking for the judge to sentence Carona to three to five years in prison. Carona's attorney, Brian Sun, said he will seek a sentence of probation – or to have the judge set aside the conviction. The defense team will also seek a new trial.
Carona's sentencing is scheduled for April 27. A conference on his sentencing and other post-trial issues is set for March 20.
Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and former prosecutor, said Guilford can consider the evidence introduced on the public corruption charges and any other reliable information when he sentences Carona for witness tampering.
She said if jurors acquitted Carona because the overt acts of a conspiracy were beyond a statute of limitations, the judge could consider that when he decides his sentence.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/carona-charges-hoffman-2294067-judge-sentence