Subject: Brett Sagel

• Read Sheriff Carona's indictment here

  This morning, the Weekly stood with folks from the LAT, ABC7, NBC4 and other media outlets outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, waiting with bated breath and loaded cameras for the man of the hour—Sheriff Michael S. Carona (R-Indicted)—to make his walk of shame. Alas, the indicted party pooper was a no-show, and everyone went home empty-camera'd. We'll be back tomorrow to see if His Indictedness will grace us with his indicted presence. Meanwhile, intrepid Weekly

  October 30, 2007

• Carona in Cuffs!

  Sheriff Mike Carona, facing federal criminal corruption charges, turned himself in early this morning at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse in downtown Santa Ana. Later in the afternoon, Carona, along with his wife Debbie and mistress Debra Hoffman, appeared in the courtroom of Judge Robert Block for a pre-arraignment hearing . . . aaahhh, you don't wanna read that stuff. And I don't wanna write it, either. Seriously, you can find all that blah-blah somewhere else (excepting maybe the OC Regi

  October 31, 2007

• Sunday's Headlines & Surprises: The Shame of Wayne Gross

  Dana Point Gets a Celebrity! Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his wife, Cookie, have purchased a $7.6 million gated-community “vacation” home in Dana Point, according to the Times. Though “Hot Property” reporter Ruth Ryon didn’t share more details about the location, you can assume it’s at the oceanfront Headlands, property owned for decades by the Chandler family, longtime owners of Ryon’s employer. Anyhow, real estate agent Shelley Brown told the paper that Johnson, who lives most

  November 18, 2007

• Thursday's Headlines. No Surprises: Nice try, Debbie

  Story of the day goes to Christian Berthelsen at the Times for his piece on Chriss Street: "In 1994, Chriss Street was hailed as a hero for helping to blow the whistle on high-risk holdings in Orange County's investment portfolio, presaging the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. But now, in his year-old role as the county's treasurer, Street finds himself in the awkward position of having to defend some of his investment decisions. Street made a startling presentation to the O

  December 6, 2007

• Mike Carona Pulls An OJ During First Week of Corruption Trial

  November 2, 2008

• The Wire: Haidl and Carona Caught on Tape

  Today at ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona's federal corruption trial, prosecutor Brett Sagel introduced the following inflammatory excerpt of a secretly recorded July 7, 2007, conversation between then-Sheriff Carona and Don Haidl, who had served as assistant sheriff. At the time of the conversation, Carona knew that the FBI was investigating him on suspicion of public corruption. What he didn't know was that Haidl, his longtime pal and the alleged source of a large amount of bribes, had a

  November 6, 2008

• Sheriff Mike Carona Loved Don Haidl

  "I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of, you know, you know, like, like this. I'm tired of, you know, being embarrassed to hang out with my friends. You know, fuck it. I love you man and you, like, you know, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be the Sheriff of Orange County." --Knowing of federal prosecutor Brett Sagel's investigation of his activities, Sheriff Mike Carona--a man President George W. Bush appointed to a powerful national security position--talking in a secretly recorded July 15,

  November 12, 2008

• Indicted Ex-Sheriff Mike Carona Claimed the Bible ran his daily life

  "Silly ass . . . no shit . . . shit . . . fuck you . . . fuck . . . get fucked . . . get fucked . . . fucked . . . fucking . . . two cocksuckers . . . shit . . . shit . . . shit . . . damn . . . fuck . . . all that shit . . . bitchin! . . . shit . . . Look at the size on that one! . . . bullshit . . . fucking . . . shitting . . . fuck . . . shit . . . fucking . . . All he had to do was be a white guy about it . . . bite them in the ass . . . fucking . . . shit . . . evil fucking evil . . . fucki

  November 15, 2008

• A Wink, a Prayer and Some Spilt Ink for Mike Carona

  You can credit indicted ex-Sheriff Mike Carona (pictured in his old chick magnet outfit) for turning federal Judge Andrew Guilford’s stately 10th-floor Santa Ana courtroom into a bloody, limb-strewn morgue for the once-touted character of “America’s Sheriff.” So what do Frank Mickadeit and Jeffrey Rawitz find so amusing? They wink, smile and nod at each other so often a stranger might believe he’d witnessed the blossoming of a torrid affair. Their communications are the kind of sneaky

  November 17, 2008

• Judge Separates Mike Carona From a Mistress

  It took a federal court order, but Mike Carona is finally a one-woman man. At least temporarily.The indicted ex-Orange County sheriff will have to adjust to that painful reality thanks to a mid-trial ruling.Federal Judge Andrew Guillford removed as a defendant Debra V. Hoffman--Carona's top mistress and, according to federal prosecutors, a co-conspirator in a sensational public-corruption case. Over the government's objections, Guilford granted a late defense motion to sever Hoffman from the cas

  December 2, 2008

• Indicted Sheriff Mike Carona Corruption Trial Quote of the Day!

  "Yes . . . yes"--Indicted ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona's defense team tried to prove in trial today that a wealthy Carona campaign contributor's relative, serving a jail sentence, had not received preferential treatment, but Kim Markuson--onetime assistant sheriff for OC jails--provided the aforementioned answers to federal prosecutor Brett Sagel when asked if Carona's sheriff's department violated two specific provisions of a court order that gave preferential treatment to the contribut

  December 11, 2008

• Sheriff Mike Carona Corruption Trial Quote of the Day!

  "I like his values system."--Defense witness Thomas Banks, a volunteer pilot in the Orange County Sheriff's Aero Squadron, on why he'd contributed to Sheriff Mike Carona's campaign and offered him a paid board position at his company, Aperture Health of Mission Viejo. Last year, FBI agents arrested OC's top cop--a foul-mouthed, voracious adulterer who surrounded himself with three convicted felons, reneged on all 10 of his original campaign promises, aided a murderer/businessman in a product sch

  December 12, 2008

• Mike Carona is Hoping There's a Moron on his Jury

  For more than a year, Mike Carona's legal defense team and its sycophants aimed a portion of their wrath at Brett Sagel, the assistant United States attorney and driving force behind the prosecution of the indicted, ex-Orange County sheriff. They've impugned his motives, belittled his experience and mocked his skills. When he examined witnesses, they'd groan or snort. They even fired off personal shots you'd hear in a high school locker room. But here's the irony of today's long

  January 8, 2009

• Carona Guilty of Witness Tampering

   "America's Sheriff" is a convicted felon.Ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona was found not guilty of multiple conspiracy counts and one witness tampering count in Santa Ana federal court today, but he was still found guilty of another witness tampering count. According to federal prosecutors, 53-year-old Carona faces a sentence of zero to 10 years in prison on that count after a yet-to-be scheduled sentencing hearing.First elected sheriff in 1998, Carona is the highest ranking law enforce

  January 16, 2009

• The Best Posts of 2008, Direct From the Weekly's Parallel Universe

  January 1, 2009

• [Moxley Confidential] Why Did Wayne Gross Recuse Himself From the Mike Carona Investigation?

  February 21, 2008

• [Moxley Confidential] The stupidity of indicted ex-Sheriff Mike Carona caught on tape

  February 14, 2008

• A Tale of Two Tapes

  2007: A year to remember

  December 27, 2007

• They Got the Sheriff

  OC Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s reign has been equal parts tragedy and comedy. With his indictment, it enters its final act.

  November 1, 2007

• [Moxley Confidential] Mike Carona Maintained His Smug Mug During Sentencing

  April 30, 2009

• Prosecutors Recommend Nine Years in Prison For Mike Carona

  Home Sweet Home?Ex-Sheriff Mike Carona should serve 108 months or nine years in prison for attempting to sabotage a grand jury investigation into abuse of power and bribery at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, according to a brief filed today by the U.S. Department of Justice.The recommendation, which comes from prosecutors Brett Sagel and Ken Julian, is 30 months more than what a federal probation officer recently recommended based on sentencing guidelines. Some will see this as ironical

  April 10, 2009

• Once Again, George Jaramillo Is Mr. Big Mouth

  Two Top OC Cops Turn Convicted Felons​He once dreamed of becoming California's first Latino governor. He finagled an improbable transition from Garden Grove police sergeant to the powerful No. 2 post at the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD). He even managed to create a fan club within the George W. Bush White House. But late Monday afternoon, ex-Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo discovered there are consequences to unbridled ambition: a 27-month federal prison sentence and the forfeit

  September 15, 2009