
“Three hots and a cot” Mike Carona, the disgraced and convicted felon who was OC’s sheriff and has been parking the “Little Sheriff” at the Big House (federal prison), is seeking an early release on his sentence citing a change in the definition of corruption *after* he was convicted and sentenced, according to this story in today’s LA Times.
The Times reports Carona’s lawyers are arguing that Carona’s sentence be adjured because a year after Carona was convincted, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of corruption to just bribes and kickbacks. The lawyers argue the Carona simply didn’t disclose gifts properly. Prosecutors contend that are multiple examples of Carona accepting bribes and payoffs from the late Don Haidl which also included money paid to Carona’s mistress. Carona’s lawyers are asking the sentence be reduced to 24-30 months which means the Little Sheriff could be roaming the streets again soon. Federal Judge Andrew Guilford said he’d rule on the case soon.
Carona, the disgraced former sheriff who was a rising star in the OC GOP, began serving his 66-month prison sentence in January 2011 at Englewood Federal Correctional Institution in Colorado, where he does times with former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling and disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Instead of using government resources to play the field and violate the ninth Commandment, the convincted felon and poor-excuse-for-a-Christian spends nealry 8 hours a day doing landscaping, plumbing, painting, or working in the kitchen.
I’m still waiting for the day when some member of the mainstream media asks former Carona flack Jon Fleischman just what he knew and when he knew it while working the phones and the press for his former boss. Fleischman often bragged about his insider access, and one has to wonder why Fleischman didn’t face the music or charges. At the very least, Fleischman placed the interests of his political party ahead of his real boss– the taxpayer — by keeping silent about Carona’s activities. And if Fleischman was unaware of Carona’s bad behavior, then he isn’t really that much of an insider, is he?
Let’s not forgot this Flash Report post from 2006:
Mike Carona: A GREAT Sheriff who should be re-elected.
Jon Fleischman- PublisherThis Tuesday is a big election day throughout California, with a lot going on including a nationally-watched special election for Congress in San Diego, a heated battle between two Democrats for the honor of going up against Arnold Schwarzenegger this fall, Rob Reiner’s tax hike/government-run preschool scheme, and much more. All of those things and more have been talked about on this website.
I am going to take a few minutes, though, and talk about a race that is near and dear to my heart. My apologies to the vast majority of FR readers who hail from outside of “The OC” — but I want to take a few minutes to urge my several thousand Orange County readers to vote to re-elect my boss, Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona. If you are reading this column, and live outside of Orange County, but have family, friends or acquaintances here, please contact them and ask them to vote for Sheriff Carona.
I have known Mike Carona for nearly fifteen years. He and I first met when he was the Marshal of Orange County (in charge of security for our county courthouses) and I was a special assistant to freshman Congressman Ed Royce. Over the years, I have come to know Carona as a man of strong integrity with a commitment to freedom and liberty, and a passion for public policy administration.
Because of Mike Carona’s strong belief in Republican principles, I have seen him be a leader within the GOP. He has endorsed hundreds of Republican candidates for local, county, state and federal office. Whether it has been his support of paycheck protection, or his solid opposition to both open primary measures, Carona has done the right thing. This year you need only look at the big battles in Orange County to know that, despite his own election taking place, Carona is still stepping up for the GOP cause. He was a solid endorser of Diane Harkey for State Senate, and he is a prominent supporter of John Moorlach for Board of Supervisors.
Of course, for FlashReport readers, it is important to see the Sheriff as a great conservative leader (I’ve never met a Sheriff who is more passionate about second amendment rights than this one!), but the last five and a half years, I have been able to see a great law enforcement leader and manager first hand. If you didn’t know it, I work full-time in the media relations office of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. In that capacity, I get an insider perspective of Sheriff Carona.
Mike Carona words tirelessly for the department (which is a large one – with around 4500 employees and an annual budget around 600 million bucks!). I’ve never met anyone more dedicated to their job than Carona. Whether it working day and night with his command staff of four Assistant Sheriff’s to keep the day-to-day operations on track, or if he is traveling around the nation (Carona serves as an advisor to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
The accomplishments of the department under Carona are many (click here) and he has a ton of great support (click here) including virtually every GOP elected official in Orange County. Most significantly, Orange Countians can easily answer yes to the question, “Are you safer today than you were eight years ago?”
Carona is looking at three opponents on tomorrow’s ballot, all of whom I would seriously call “B” players. All of them have resorted to the worst kind of campaigning — where they takes the lies and falsehoods printed in publications like the Orange County Weekly and spread them around as if they are true. Instead of being for something, they have all decided to run negative campaigns. Anyways, none of them, in my opinion, offer the kind of real leadership that Orange County has come to know from Mike Carona.
There have been a number of news articles (primarily in the OC Weekly and in the LA Times) that have been negative about the Sheriff. Well, I can tell you as someone who is truly in a position to sort out fact from fiction — most of what they have said simply isn’t true. And the volumes of great things that he and our department achieve on a daily basis that the newspapers don’t print is staggering. Yes, unfortunately somone the Sheriff hired for his senior staff turned out to be involved with criminal activities. That said, the Sheriff let that person go (before these activities came to light) and the Sheriff tells anyone who asks that he takes responsibility for having brought that person in, and for letting that person go. Don’t believe those out there who want to truly make a mountain out of a mole hill – their sole agenda is to take down an honorable and well-respected public official.
A last word about Mike Carona that I think should be significant to FlashReport readers. I think that it speaks volumes about Sheriff Carona that he has been very supportive of my efforts to start and maintain this website. Often times I will pen controversial things, and while neither he nor you, I’m sure, agree with all of them, I think it shows a commitment on Carona’s part to the causes in which we believe that he has been so supportive.
In closing I would simply say this. If you do not know Mike Carona already — then perhaps you will take the word of someone you do know…me! I am not only voting for Mike Carona — but am doing so enthusiastically. Please consider voting for him as well, and like I said above, if you have relatives or friends in Orange County, encourage them to vote to re-elect Sheriff Carona as well!
Sincerely,
Jon Fleishman
Publisher, The Flash Report
P.S. For inquiring minds, Mike Carona has no idea that I am writing this note to all of you. At least until he reads the FlashReport today!
*****
As a former friend and supporter of Mike Corona, I was originally impressed with the man. At that time Mike was the O.C. Marshal. Mike was easy going and his ego was not what you find with many upper management people. That changed after he was elected. Surrounding himself with a group of incompetents and “No” he never offered me a job. The power eventually went to his head. The downfall of Mike Corona gives new meaning to the Lord Acton quote, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It is always sad to see a good man go down in flames, but Mike Corona wasn’t the first, nor will he be the last. On his sentence, Mike needs to finish his sentence as was originally handed down by the Judge. Moral of the story is, “Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.”
You conservatives need to read more Lord Acton; that quote is the only thing you know and its demonstrated weekly by the new council majority in Irvine
Actually, the quote, “Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.” from Baretta on the old TV show is more appropriate for you Agranistas, Once the audit of the Not So Great Park is finished, who knows, perhaps the “Teflon Man” might just meet his Karma? Well, we can always hope, can’t we?
Didn’t Robert Blake kill his wife and get off scot free?
Perhaps the more relevant quote is from Lincoln:
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Yes, I believe you did.
Jon Flash was one of the biggest losers in this sordid affair. We found out one of two things. He wasn’t quite the insider he claimed. If he did know what Carona was doing and said nothing then his priorities were more to the party and himself. Either way. But the real hit was the statement from Haidl in one of his wiretapped discussions with Carona:
Don Haidl: Is somebody paying that goofy bastard [Jon Fleischman]?
Mike Carona: Big bucks. Big bucks.
You and I had a difference of opinion on him. I just think he was a moron on his best day, but . . .
Well, apparently . . .
(Laughs)
They’re willing to pay morons a lot of money because I was probably paying him when he left $90,000 a year. He made four times what I was paying him in a year, he made it in six months. And, uh, it’s all through that silly ass Flash Report. He was doing consulting for business and stuff like that, too, you know? He’s doing a George Jaramillo . . . He’s doing a shakedown.
More power to him, I guess, you know?
Looks like he didn’t make the cut.
http://discussions.latimes.com/20/lanews/la-me-ln-mike-carona-prison-20130405/10