This week I wrote about the indictment of Orange County (CA) Sheriff Mike Carona on federal bribery and corruption charges. As of today, Carona has announced that he is making arrangements to "step aside" until the legal issues are resolved. However, this does not involve resignation. It appears he will still draw his salary and benefits. How much of the operations of the Orange County Sheriffs Department he will be involved in is unclear.
Today's Orange County Register revealed additional details from the indictment. If you are reading this, you might want to get a barf-bag ready before going any further. This is really sickening.
According to the indictment, Carona and his deputies, George Jaramillo and Don Haidl, were steering legal work to local attorney, the obnoxious Joe Cavallo. This guy (Cavallo) is one of the more odious attorneys in Southern California, which is really saying something! Cavallo was a defense attorney in the 2004 trial of Haidl's son, Greg and two other young punks for a gang rape, in which they assaulted a passed out girl with various objects on a pool table and videotaped the event. (They were convicted.) Cavallo savaged the victim, portraying her as a slut who willingly took part in the act. He also insulted the victim's parents in court during the trial as they sat as spectators.
In addition, Cavallo has recently pleaded guilty to a bail bond scam and is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Carona case. He is due to be sentenced in December. So it seems that the Sheriff of Orange County and his deputy, Haidl Sr. brought in Cavallo to represent a criminal defendant in a rape case-who happened to be the son of the Deputy Chief-a man with no law enforcement experience, but who was appointed by Carona.
But wait there's more. This is where you really need the barf-bag. In 2001, Orange County Deputy Brad Warner slipped into a coma and died after undergoing knee surgery related to an old injury incurred when fighting with a suspect. Carona then allegedly steered Warner's widow to Cavallo to file a damage suit against the hospital. This was supposedly part of an agreement made three years prior by which the sheriff, Jaramillo and Haidl would use their positions to steer business toward Cavallo, who would then kick back a portion of any settlements. In this case, Cavallo arranged a quickie settlement with the hospital in 2002 for the sum of $340,000-a paltry sum considering the negligence involved. Cavallo supposedly put pressure on Warner's widow, a Filipina immigrant, who was suffering from cancer from which she died in 2005, to accept the settlement. There you have it: Quick money with cuts going to Carona, Haidl and Jaramillo. No doubt the hospital was relieved and eager to settle for such a low sum. This is what Carona did to the wife of one of his own deceased deputies-according to the indictment.
I have to believe that now that this piece of information has come out that the Orange County deputies are ready to storm the gates of their HQs to demand Carona's head.
Of course, I must repeat that Carona is presumed innocent until.......................
Excuse me. I have to go throw up.
No comments:
Post a Comment