Yesterday, in the federal corruption trial of ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, jurors listened to tape recorded discussions between Carona and Don Haidl (now a government witness). Haidl, on the witness stand, helped explain the conversations and the meaning of the statements. The conversations centered around hiding the bribes he (Carona) had allegedly received as sheriff. A sampling:
Carona to Haidl on August 13, 2007: "And, by the way, if you go back and look, my answer's gonna be, yeah (the money)came from my account. Look at my ATM receipts."
In another exchange, Haidl tells Carona that he prefers crisp new dollar bills, to which "America's Sheriff" replies, "I do, too. But you know what? I like the old stuff, too. I'd roll around in it like a puppy dog."
In yet another exchange, Haidl says, "We can't take the Fifth."
Carona: "We wouldn't want to anyway 'cause all that does is just, you know, create a bigger, you know, target on your back."
At one point, Asst US Attorney Brett Sagel asked Haidl to define the purpose of the cash he had given to Carona. Haidl replied that the cash were bribes so that Carona wouldn't take other bribes.
More to follow.
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