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Subject: Michael Carona
Healing Through Amputation
According to this morning's Los Angeles Times, newly reelected Sheriff Mike Carona has "vowed to heal the department torn by scandal and politics." And, it seems, the healing has already begun, and begun in interesting way, if the goal is to avoid political strife in the department. As the Times reports: One day after winning reelection in an incendiary campaign battle against one of his lieutenants, Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona placed that lieutenant on paid administrative leave. Car
June 8, 2006Pains, Past and Future
Advising Sheriff Mike Carona to suspend his election rival Lt. Bill Hunt may turn out not to have been a brilliant career move for attorney Martin Mayer. As the Los Angeles Times reports: Orange County supervisors decided Wednesday to review their hiring of the lawyer who advised Sheriff Michael S. Carona that he could suspend his chief political opponent from the department. At the end of a two-day hearing on the county's next budget, Supervisor Chris Norby asked that the board review the contr
June 15, 2006Challenging Carona
The first legal challenge to Sheriff Mike Carona's somewhat suspect personnel decisions has begun. As the Los Angeles Times reports: A retired lieutenant who supported the runner-up to Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona in the June 6 election said he has filed a legal claim against the county, alleging that his dismissal as a sheriff's academy instructor was politically motivated. Darrell "Guy" Poncy, who taught courses at the sheriff's academy for 15 years, said supervisors told him Feb.
June 20, 2006A Predictable End
Another law and order triumph for Sheriff Mike Carona. OK, maybe that law doesn't belong there-- there's going to be a lawsuit contending that what Carona did wasn't legal (which in turn calls the triumph part into question)-- but Carona is definitely enforcing order in the sheriff's department. Carona has clearly demonstrated that anyone challenging his leadership in an election is going to pay a big price for such independence. After all, what do people think this is? A democracy or someth
December 29, 2006Revenge of the Sheriff: Another crappy sequel
See if this sounds familiar. The Los Angeles Times reports: A sheriff's lieutenant filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, alleging Carona retaliated against him for supporting a rival in last year's race to be the county's top lawman. In his 22 years in the department, Jeff Bardzik rose steadily, the lawsuit says, until he announced his support for sheriff's Lt. Bill Hunt's effort to unseat Carona. As a result, the lawsuit alleges, Bardzik, 53, was transferre
February 7, 2007Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises: An OC Blog Coward
What did the OC billionaire do when the wife was away? Computer-chip magnate Henry T. Nicholas III won big in a 1998 public stock offering for his Broadcom Corp., and to celebrate, he built an extravagant $30 million underground “personal brothel” at his Laguna Hills estate. That's according to the latest allegations discovered by E. Scott Reckard and Kim Christensen, two Los Angeles Times reporters who dug up court documents containing the dirt. Last week, newspapers disclosed FBI interes
July 18, 2007Thursday's Headlines & Surprises: Register Slams Sheriff
A broken clock is right more often than Rohrabacher: Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher recently uttered that President George W. Bush deserves another six months to turn things around in Iraq. But the Huntington Beach/Long Beach representative has a shameful history on the subject. More than 1,120 days ago, Rohrabacher complained bitterly about “nit-picking” Americans who were then questioning the brilliance of Bush's Iraq War strategy. “I say, thank God that we have a preside
July 19, 2007Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises: Total Idiot
Fatal Femmes! In the July 30 issue of Time, Sean Gregory reports on the Fatal Femmes Fighting Championship for all-female mixed-martial arts caged combat. Need I say more? Well, okay. In an enjoyable read based on the event in a Compton casino earlier this month, Gregory describes the brutality and “the raucous Femmes crowd, an eclectic, testosterone-heavy mix of bachelor-party drunks, white-collar MMA fans and even a few young girls, ooohed every choke hold and kick to the face.” These fig
July 25, 2007MTV says it puts Newport High males "in the hole"
Matt Coker, our beloved ex-colleague who is now editor at the Sacramento News & Review, couldn't hide his contempt for MTV's world-(in)famous Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. I'd swear his right eye would uncontrollably twitch at the mention of it. The last season of MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County really sucked. I'd rather freebase crack than watch those petty, talentless-on-the-verge-of-incarceration juveniles. Did the show have to feature people who grunt, smirk or whine at e
August 1, 2007Thursday's Headlines
Long Beach Losers: In one local weight-loss challenge, participants have to pay $2 for every pound gained. Carona in the clear. Sort of: The Fair Political Practices Commission says there isn't enough evidence to prove Sheriff Michael Carona knew that a Newport Beach businessman (allegedly) funneled illegal donations to his 2002 campaign, reports the Times. But the OC official may have to pay $15,000 for other campaign violations. Another Daily Pilot 'top story': Burgers make the top headline t
August 2, 2007Friday's Headlines
OC Performing Arts Center sues over sucky design: The center wants at least $30 million from the architect and construction company that built the $240 million structure, citing unexpected cost overruns, delays and design issues. Cough it up, Carona: OC Sheriff Michael Carona will have to pay a $15,000 fine to settle allegations that he violated election laws eight times by billing his campaign committee an estimated $130,000 in expenses that he vaguely listed as "loans," reports the Times. Smi
August 17, 2007It's Saturday Night: Do You Know Who Our Sheriff Is Hugging?
Flashback: Frederick J. Rizzolo, a Vegas titty bar owner, poses with Michael S. Carona, our self-proclaimed "Christian" sheriff, before Rizzolo was sent to federal prison this summer. Carona first told reporters he didn't know Rizzolo, who--according to the FBI--has connections to legendary mobsters in Chicago. Then this photograph appeared on our pages and the sheriff's story switched. Rizzolo, he said, is an honest businessman. FBI didn't agree. As a high-ranking law enforcement officer sai
September 15, 2007Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: Anaheim Subsidizes Private Tennis Club
Slow Road to China: Officials at the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) are puzzled as to why a private construction company is repeatedly missing deadlines to finish the $550-million road-widening project, according to a story by Ellyn Pak at the Register. The delays aren't just costing commuters time. They are also losing money. Taxpayers have already shelled out $1 million in delay-related expenses. So why the delays? Well, the construction company apparently isn't required to ex
September 18, 2007Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: Costa Mesa Fascists Lose!
How Did Bren Recently Gain $5 Billion? Those of us who’ve watched the county operate know that Donald Bren’s Irvine Co. gets away with murder in Orange County. Several years ago, I reported that Bren had won public recognition from the Times and Register for donating land to the public at his Newport Coast project. What they didn’t say was that the land was mostly sheer cliff around his McMansions. Far from being generous, Bren’s donation quietly shifted earthquake and fire liability fr
October 2, 2007Rohrabacher: Why aren't we causing a revolution in China?
Last night in a C-SPAN televised speech, Dana Rohrabacher called Chinese government officials “gangsters,” slammed both Bush presidential administrations for failing to challenge China’s human rights abuses and complained that the U.S. Government isn’t working to spur a democratic revolution in that nation on the eve of the next Olympic games. Oh, and the OC-Long Beach Republican congressman also told us that Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have been a coward to stand up to the Chinese Commun
October 2, 2007Fourth Sheriff Carona Pal Convicted of Crimes
Joseph G. Cavallo grew up poor in tough New Jersey neighborhoods, graduated from law school, made himself nationally famous as a California criminal-defense lawyer who earned millions of dollars. He owns an Orange County mansion, a small Caribbean island and a fleet of luxury cars Mike Tyson would envy. But today, Cavallo—recognized for his passionate defense of gang rapist Gregory Scott Haidl—hit bottom again. During a 10-minute court hearing with 13 members of the news media present (incl
October 12, 2007Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: Head Butting Cars Isn't Healthy
Not Sure Why His Head Continued to Slam Into My Baton: Norberto Santana, Jr. at the Register reports that an unidentified “28-year-old inmate at the Orange County jail died Friday after deputies used a taser gun to subdue him.” Damon Micalizzi, the taxpayer-paid flack assigned to get Sheriff Michael S. Carona good ink, claimed, “Deputies tried to do what they could to remove him from other inmates. A confrontation ensued, a taser was deployed and then he was taken to the nursing station f
October 13, 2007Fire Officials Seek Information on OC Arsonist
The folks over at the Register are doing a fine job reporting on the massive Orange County arson fire that’s threatening to keep firefighters at work for another two days as winds approaching hurricane force continue to pound the region. Residents in Foothill Ranch are the latest to see their neighborhood in the path of a fire that’s consumed 8,800 acres in less than 18 hours. Reg reporters say that Orange County Fire Authority officials found three ignition points at Santiago Canyon Road ne
October 22, 2007OC Sheriff Carona Indicted For Corruption After FBI Probe
Christine Hanley at the Los Angeles Times is reporting late night that Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona (pictured in a Newport Beach bar with convicted felon Rick Rizzolo, a Chicago Mafia associate) "has been indicted on federal corruption charges stemming from a lengthy investigation into allegations that he misused his office for financial gain." Larry Welborn and Peggy Lowe at the Orange County Register report tonight that George Jaramillo, Carona's handpicked ex-No. 2 at the departme
October 29, 2007Read 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, 2007Photos: We shot the sheriff
Sheriff Michael S. Carona and his wife Debbie make their walk of shame out of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at around 4 p.m. The pair (and Carona's longtime mistress, Debra Hoffman) sat cuffed inside the building moments earlier. Click the photo for more images from this afternoon's media circus! Alas, no photos of the much-talked-about threesome in cuffs. No cams were allowed in the building, and they didn't wear 'em out.
October 31, 2007Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: KFI Nailing Carona?
Chivalry at its Finest! Federal prosecutors gave Michael S. Carona, 52, multiple chances to save his wife and one of his mistresses from aggressive federal prosecution if he agreed to plead guilty on corruption and obstruction of justice charges. But the self-styled Christian conservative sheriff resisted. Carona wanted to save his own ass, a source told Gil Reza and Christine Hanley for a story today in the LA Times. The sheriff offered to resign if the feds would let him escape all charges. P
November 6, 2007Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises: OCSD's Bubbling Cesspool
L Word? The board of supervisors is exploring whether indicted Sheriff Michael S. Carona can legally name his temporary replacement while he takes the next two months off (with full pay!) to fight “baseless” charges by the FBI. Jo Ann Galisky, 47, played Al Haig yesterday. She told told reporters that she’s the boss now and (as part of the cesspool that Carona surrounded himself with at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department) she said she will continue to serve his “program” pleasur
November 7, 2007Carona's dirty but Is Lou Correa retarded?
In preparation for an upcoming corruption story, I’ve been reviewing dozens of files I’ve maintained for nine years on Sheriff Michael S. Carona (pictured at a Newport Beach bar celebrating with Rick Rizzolo, a convicted felon tied to the Chicago Mafia and a man who thought so much of our sheriff he contributed to his re-election campaign). This afternoon I re-discovered a hilarious old newspaper clip. Of course, it’s from the Register. The setting for the article is Carona’s January
November 18, 2007Monday's Headlines & Surprises: Horny Priests and Eskimo kids
$50 million Eskimo Pie: Because its priests and missionaries sexually abused 110 Eskimo children from 1961 to 1987, the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church has almost finalized a deal to pay $50 million to the victims, William Lobdell and Stuart Silverstein report in today’s LA Times. But “the settlement does not require the order to admit fault” and “more than a dozen” priests escaped criminal charges, according to the article. “Many plaintiffs said their once devoutly Cathol
November 19, 2007Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises: Another Carona Monster?
Did Carona Create Yet Another Monster? If I was indicted Sheriff Michael S. Carona, I might be getting tired of Jo Ann Galisky, Kool-Aid Queen. This acting sheriff bit has swelled her mullet. Six weeks after she became temporary head honcho, she's still telling everyone she can that Carona's absence "has had no impact" at the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Galisky (pictured busy at work) barked the line again yesterday, according to Peggy Lowe at the Register. Galisky's wrong again. At a m
December 12, 2007Sunday's Headlines & Surprises: Poor Ho Chi Minh
Good Ink for the Sheriff! Norberto Santana Jr. and Tony Saavedra at the Register today find that “a $2 billion effort to deport immigrants has little measurable effect on crime or illegal immigration” and that government agencies “often work at cross purposes.” To prove their point, Santana and Saavedra tell the story of career criminal Juan Gutierrez Bahena, who has been deported to Mexico six times only to return to Orange County to commit additional crimes: burglary, drugs, checking
December 16, 2007NEWS FLASH: Mechanics are crooked
As dutifully chronicled by the unoverestimatable R. Scott Moxley (A Tale of Two Tapes), 2007 saw a nail driven into the coffin of Sheriff Michael Carona's political career, not to mention his testicles. When the LA Times is publishing pictures of your wife and your mistress, calling them the Two Debbies, you just know the country club won't renew your membership for love, money or even political favors. Two Tapes. Two Debbies. Two convicted Haidls (father Don and son Greg). Two convicted associ
January 1, 2008Game Over? Carona resigns!
The AP and OC Register report that Sheriff Michael Carona will announce his resignation today in order to better focus on the case against him. We were sitting here pinching ourselves when we wandered over to the OCSD blog and read this statement from Carona. Guess it ain't a dream: Over the past few weeks it has become clear to me that the interests of the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the residents of Orange County would be best served if I am not distracted from my duties while defe
January 14, 2008Wake Up And Suck The Orange 1.28.08
One one hand, yes it's a bit same-y. On the OTHER hand - how often does the former sheriff of (let's be honest) one of the most important counties in America get in so much hot fudge and creamery butter FBI-style? Not often, sir. And/or madam. Not often at all. HOW TO REPRESENT CARONA: LA Times - A good look at how former Sheriff Michael Carona, while earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for not working, somehow managed to retain a firm pro bono - "Though not unheard of, the case --
January 28, 2008What you missed over the weekend: Part VII
Remember R. Scott Moxley's challenge to a certain former sheriff? The one in which he dared Michael S. Carona to play the contents of secret tapes containing conversations between himself and former assistant sheriff Don Haidl? The same tapes Carona said would prove his innocence?! Well, Mox threw down the gauntlet over a month ago, and, unsurprisingly, the Carona camp didn't take it up. Instead, over the weekend, the news broke that Carona's attorneys filed a motion to throw said tapes out. Hm
January 28, 2008Carona Lite
June 3, 1999Armed and Dangerous
November 4, 1999Letters
A year to remember
December 27, 2007[Moxley Confidential] The Crooked Sheriff Chuckled: Plot to Thwart Feds' Bribery Probe Amused Carona
November 13, 2008Letters
'Sometimes, when I am stressed, I go and stand on the shoulder of a toll road and smell the fumes—I mean, fresh air'
January 24, 2008Crossing the Thin Blue Line
Police expert slams OC Sheriff’s Department for ‘cowboy’ attitude and ‘fatal errors’ that led to a street execution
November 29, 2007Letters
"Go ahead and gloat."
November 8, 2007She's The (Under) Sheriff
Indicted by the Feds, Carona slides his most loyal soldier into temporary command at the Sheriff’s Department
November 8, 2007Magnum Enforcer
In an ongoing federal civil trial, it’s clear that one of Carona’s more violent deputies enjoys gunplay
November 1, 2007They 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, 2007Letters
"You had me with you until your last paragraphy where you wrote: 'His balls were much, much bigger than any of ours.' "
October 25, 2007OC's Scariest People
Our Congressional delegation tops this year’s list of 33 villains (31 for October, plus two more to get to the Dia de los Muertos, ese)
October 25, 2007Furious and Curiouser
Orange County falls deeper into the infamous Malibu Ferrari crash
August 16, 2007Diary of a Mad County
September 7, 2006Laughing His Way to Victory?
Despite scandals, Sheriff Carona still seducing voters
March 30, 2006OC's 31 Scariest People
Now 25 percent more terrifying!
October 27, 2005SEX!
April 28, 2005Murder, He Wrote
November 6, 2003[Moxley Confidential] Dana Rohrabacher Backs Tax Dollars for Ronald Reagan Birthday-Party Commission
June 11, 2009
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