Mike Carona's lawyers came to federal court this morning, claimed that federal prosecutors in the ex-sheriff's case are more of a threat to society and pleaded with a judge to give the top cop turned convicted felon a break: allow him to remain free pending an appeal of his conviction.
But federal prosecutor Ken Julian said it would send the wrong message to society if “a guilty, corrupt public official” wasn't sent to prison in a timely manner.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford listened patiently to Julian and to defense lawyers, and late this afternoon rejected Carona's request.
Carona's lawyers indicated during this morning's hearing that if they lost the motion they would file an emergency appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
If higher courts agree with Guilford, Carona must surrender to federal prison officials in late July to begin serving a 66-month sentence for sabotaging a grand jury investigating corruption at the top of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
But, hey, how about this for a real miracle: For once, the ex-sheriff wasn't seen leaving the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse wearing a smug mug and laughing.
–R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly
CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.
