Mike Carona
Encyclopedia
Michael S. "Mike" Carona (born May 23, 1955) is a convicted felon and former Sheriff
-Coroner
of Orange County, California
. The Sheriff was the elected head of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He gained national prominence during the hunt for the killer of Samantha Runnion. After the quick capture of her murderer, Alejandro Avila, late night television host Larry King
dubbed him "America's Sheriff" during an interview.
In late 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Carona, his wife, and his alleged longtime mistress on corruption charges. He resigned effective January 14, 2008, and was convicted on one count of witness tampering, a year later. He was sentenced to 66 months in prison. On January 25, 2011 the sheriff turned himself in to a federal prison in Colorado to start serving time on the conviction.
; Carona holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Management
from the University of Redlands
and two Master of Arts
degrees in Management
from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
and the University of Redlands
. Carona graduated from the OCSD training academy
in 1976. He was assigned to the County Marshal
's Department, where he worked as a deputy for 12 years.
Carona identifies with his Sicilian
heritage, having explicitly noted it in his biography on the Orange County Sheriff's Department website. He became a lodge member of the Order of the Sons of Italy in 1999. He is also a member of Mensa
.
of Orange County. After 10 years as Marshal, Carona was elected by popular vote as the Sheriff of Orange County
in 1998. Carona ran unopposed during his re-election campaign in 2002 and began his second term in 2003.
In 2003, President
George W. Bush
appointed Michael Carona to the federal Emergency Response Senior Advisory Committee on Homeland Security. On November 15, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security
asked for, and received, Carona's resignation from the task force, citing distractions due to the federal charges he is facing.
California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
appointed Carona as a commissioner
in the California State Athletic Commission
in September 2004, citing such achievements as his 3rd degree black belt
in Taekwondo
. He remained there until August 2005.
On June 6, 2006, Carona was elected to a third term as Sheriff. Carona put one of his opponents, Bill Hunt, on administrative leave a few days later. (Hunt was the only one of his opponents who was an employee of OCSD.) Six months later, Carona announced the demotion of Hunt to a rank just above entry-level. Hunt opted to retire instead.
Carona was also previously chair of the California Council on Criminal Justice
.
reported that Carona had been indicted
on federal corruption
charges, alleging that he used his office for personal financial gain and urged a former associate, former Assistant Sheriff Donald Haidl, to testify falsely before a grand jury. Federal prosecutors also charged him with instructing an employee in 2005 to lie to investigators about a sexual relationship she had with him as further evidence of tampering with witnesses. The indictment alleged that Carona received gifts including a boat, boxing tickets, and over $112,000 in cash in illegal, unreported gifts. Were he to have been convicted on all counts, Carona could have received 105 years in prison. In the Federal Indictment Prosecutors alluded to extramarital affairs titillating the media. A four part Full Disclosure Network Emmy nominated TV series featured an exclusive interview with Sheriff Carona immediately following his arraignment and focused on prosecutor tactics and federal sentencing procedures.
. Although his attorneys had asked for the trial to be delayed an additional two months, the trial was delayed to October 28 because the judge said the case was "so unusual and complex". Carona pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed he would be vindicated at the trial.
The trial relied prominently on the testimony of Donald Haidl, a former partner of Carona. He has said, "Carona's political team developed 'the friend's list' through which Carona authorized reserve deputy badges in exchange for $1,000 campaign donations." It also features Carona saying of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
"He just wants to take me out. He thinks I'm weak." The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 12,000 pages of witness statements had been turned over by the government and over 100 witness may be called by the prosecution.
Carona announced on January 14, 2008, his resignation from the sheriff's post so as to better concentrate on his defense. Carona was replaced on an interim basis by Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson and then replaced permanently by retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Division Chief Sandra Hutchens
as the county's 12th sheriff.
, whose investments, which were made while consulting psychics and astrologers, led Orange County into bankruptcy in 1994.)
in Colorado
, where he will serve five years and six months. Carona's "actual or projected" release date is November 8, 2015.
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
-Coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
of Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
. The Sheriff was the elected head of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He gained national prominence during the hunt for the killer of Samantha Runnion. After the quick capture of her murderer, Alejandro Avila, late night television host Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
dubbed him "America's Sheriff" during an interview.
In late 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Carona, his wife, and his alleged longtime mistress on corruption charges. He resigned effective January 14, 2008, and was convicted on one count of witness tampering, a year later. He was sentenced to 66 months in prison. On January 25, 2011 the sheriff turned himself in to a federal prison in Colorado to start serving time on the conviction.
Personal life
Born in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
; Carona holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
from the University of Redlands
University of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. The land for the university was donated by...
and two Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degrees in Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
and the University of Redlands
University of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. The land for the university was donated by...
. Carona graduated from the OCSD training academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
in 1976. He was assigned to the County Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
's Department, where he worked as a deputy for 12 years.
Carona identifies with his Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
heritage, having explicitly noted it in his biography on the Orange County Sheriff's Department website. He became a lodge member of the Order of the Sons of Italy in 1999. He is also a member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
.
Law enforcement
In 1988, at the age 33, Carona was appointed as the MarshalMarshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
of Orange County. After 10 years as Marshal, Carona was elected by popular vote as the Sheriff of Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
in 1998. Carona ran unopposed during his re-election campaign in 2002 and began his second term in 2003.
In 2003, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed Michael Carona to the federal Emergency Response Senior Advisory Committee on Homeland Security. On November 15, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
asked for, and received, Carona's resignation from the task force, citing distractions due to the federal charges he is facing.
California Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
appointed Carona as a commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
in the California State Athletic Commission
California State Athletic Commission
The California State Athletic Commission regulates professional boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events....
in September 2004, citing such achievements as his 3rd degree black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. He remained there until August 2005.
On June 6, 2006, Carona was elected to a third term as Sheriff. Carona put one of his opponents, Bill Hunt, on administrative leave a few days later. (Hunt was the only one of his opponents who was an employee of OCSD.) Six months later, Carona announced the demotion of Hunt to a rank just above entry-level. Hunt opted to retire instead.
Carona was also previously chair of the California Council on Criminal Justice
California Council on Criminal Justice
The California Council on Criminal Justice is an entity of the government of California that acts as the supervisory board concerning federal grants by the Office of Justice Programs and an advisory board for other requirements of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the...
.
Federal indictment and trial
On October 30, 2007, the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported that Carona had been indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
on federal corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
charges, alleging that he used his office for personal financial gain and urged a former associate, former Assistant Sheriff Donald Haidl, to testify falsely before a grand jury. Federal prosecutors also charged him with instructing an employee in 2005 to lie to investigators about a sexual relationship she had with him as further evidence of tampering with witnesses. The indictment alleged that Carona received gifts including a boat, boxing tickets, and over $112,000 in cash in illegal, unreported gifts. Were he to have been convicted on all counts, Carona could have received 105 years in prison. In the Federal Indictment Prosecutors alluded to extramarital affairs titillating the media. A four part Full Disclosure Network Emmy nominated TV series featured an exclusive interview with Sheriff Carona immediately following his arraignment and focused on prosecutor tactics and federal sentencing procedures.
Trial
His trial was initially scheduled to begin on August 26, 2008, in Santa AnaSanta Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
. Although his attorneys had asked for the trial to be delayed an additional two months, the trial was delayed to October 28 because the judge said the case was "so unusual and complex". Carona pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed he would be vindicated at the trial.
The trial relied prominently on the testimony of Donald Haidl, a former partner of Carona. He has said, "Carona's political team developed 'the friend's list' through which Carona authorized reserve deputy badges in exchange for $1,000 campaign donations." It also features Carona saying of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Tony Rackauckas
Anthony Joseph "Tony" Rackauckas, Jr. is the current District Attorney of Orange County, California and a former Superior Court judge. He was elected on June 2, 1998 and is serving his fourth term in office....
"He just wants to take me out. He thinks I'm weak." The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 12,000 pages of witness statements had been turned over by the government and over 100 witness may be called by the prosecution.
Carona announced on January 14, 2008, his resignation from the sheriff's post so as to better concentrate on his defense. Carona was replaced on an interim basis by Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson and then replaced permanently by retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
Division Chief Sandra Hutchens
Sandra Hutchens
Sandra Hutchens is the current Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County, California. She was appointed to the position on June 10, 2008, replacing acting sheriff Jack Anderson, who had led the department since the January 14, 2008 resignation of former sheriff Mike Carona...
as the county's 12th sheriff.
Conviction
On January 16, 2009, a federal jury convicted Carona of a single count of witness tampering, and acquitted him of charges of mail fraud, conspiracy, and another count of witness tampering. He could have faced up to twenty years in prison. On April 27, 2009 Carona was sentenced to 66 months in prison.Pension scandal
On July 12, 2010, it was revealed that Carona received over $215,000 in pension checks the previous year, despite his felony conviction, as the county's retirement system faces a massive shortfall totaling $3.7 billion unfunded liabilities. He is one of approximately 400 retired Orange County public servants who received more than $100,000 in benefits during 2009. (Also on the list of those receiving extra-large pension checks is former treasurer-tax collector Robert CitronRobert Citron
Robert Lafee Citron is a Democratic Party politician who was the longtime Treasurer-Tax Collector of Orange County, California, when it declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy on December 6, 1994. Citron was the only Democrat to hold office in otherwise Conservative/Republican Orange County at the time...
, whose investments, which were made while consulting psychics and astrologers, led Orange County into bankruptcy in 1994.)
Incarceration
On Tuesday January 25, 2011, Carona turned himself in to serve his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, EnglewoodFederal Correctional Institution, Englewood
The Federal Correctional Institution Englewood is a Federal Bureau of Prisons low security facility for male offenders, located in unincorporated Jefferson County. FCI Englewood is located off of U.S. Route 285 and Kipling Street, southwest of Denver...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, where he will serve five years and six months. Carona's "actual or projected" release date is November 8, 2015.
See also
- List of California public officials charged with crimes, Orange County
External links
- Full coverage by the Orange County Register
- feds nail oc sheriff
- They Got the Sheriff
- In a video interview, resigned sheriff says it's unfair he won't be able to return to office even if found not guilty of corruption
- Full coverage of Sheriff Mike Carona's resignation
- Schwarzenegger appoints three members of the athletic commission
- KCET Online story about the after election events
- O.C. Sheriff Carona indicted