Effective today, Mike Carona, the indicted sheriff of Orange County (Ca) has resigned in order to concentrate full-time on his legal defense. His trial for corruption is scheduled for June. Previously, Carona (briefly known as "America's Sheriff")had granted himself a 60-day paid leave from office to work on his defense. Upon his return to work a few days ago, Carona attended a local conference on the issue of jail overcrowding (certainly a legitimite concern for one who may be going to jail himself).
Now that the sheriff has enjoyed his 60 day paid holiday from work, he has (in the words of his lawyers of whom more will be said later), realized that his legal defense requires too much time to continue as sheriff.
Actually, there may be a tactical maneuver in the sheriff's decision to quit. His legal defense is being provided by attoneys who are working "pro bono" (for free) on behalf of Carona. Up until this point, it was being questioned as to whether a sitting sheriff could legally accept the favor of pro bono representation. His resignation now removes that obstacle.
One of Carona's attoneys, H. Dean Steward, stated that Carona is resigning for "the good of the department". He went on to add that, "The good of the department and the good of the people of the county were far more important than any politician who wanted to take a grandstanding position", referring to local politicians who had urged Carona to resign when he was indicted, advice that Carona had, up until now, ignored.
Maybe Mike Carona should have taken "the good of the department and the good of the people of the county" into consideration when he entered into relationships with documented sleazebags that ultimately brought on his downfall.
No comments:
Post a Comment