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Haidl: Badges tied to giving

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Times Staff Writers

Former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona gave reserve deputy badges to 86 people on a roster known as the “friends list” in exchange for donations of $1,000 to his first campaign, a key witness in the corruption case against him told federal investigators.

The witness, former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, alleged that he reimbursed a portion of these contributors with cash, either directly or through businessmen who worked for him, according to court records.

Haidl told federal agents that Carona’s goal was to sign up 1,000 reserves and collect a $1,000 donation for each badge in an effort to raise $1 million for his campaign war chest.

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Once one of the former sheriff’s closest associates, Haidl also alleged that as an assistant sheriff he was promised a “get-out-of-jail-free card” and the power to arrest or “cut loose” any individuals he pleased.

The former assistant sheriff’s allegations are contained in an exhibit that was filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court by Carona’s defense team. Carona is charged with misusing his office in a broad conspiracy to enrich himself and others, including his wife and former mistress. All three have pleaded not guilty.

Carona’s defense team did not explain why the report was included in the exhibit, which was filed with a motion seeking to prevent another witness from testifying at Carona’s trial. But Jeffrey Rawitz, one of Carona’s attorneys, denied that his client doled out any favors.

“To the extent that any contributors wanted to serve as reserves, that shouldn’t come as a shock. They were already his supporters, and it was a natural extension for them to want to work for the department on a voluntary basis,” Rawitz said.

The lawyer cited the arrest and conviction of Haidl’s son in a high-profile sexual assault case as evidence that Haidl received no special treatment.

“How did that work out with his son? When the rubber met the road, did he get a get-out-of-jail-free card?” Rawitz said.

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While being interviewed by federal investigators last September, a month before Carona was indicted, Haidl leveled a variety of assertions:

Carona and another former assistant sheriff, George Jaramillo, thought money was going to be “falling from the trees” once they assumed office.

Carona wanted Haidl to handle all the business deals that were to benefit Haidl, Carona and Jaramillo, as well as deal with the “rich” people who came in contact with the Sheriff’s Department.

The three men talked about putting money they made in a trust or lobbying company until they could legally take it out after leaving public office.

When Carona was involved in discussions about illegal topics, he would say, “That’s a conversation for the boat” or “a conversation we should have at 40,000 feet,” referring to his concern about the government monitoring his conversations.

Carona often used the phrase “Give me the win,” a reference to making sure he received full media credit when something positive happened in the department.

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Haidl resigned as an assistant sheriff in 2004 and began cooperating with federal investigators last year after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges. His sentencing in that case has been postponed until after Carona’s trial.

During his interview with FBI Agent Tony Alston and IRS Agent Steve Berryman, Haidl alleged that he and other Carona allies benefited from being in the sheriff’s “inner circle.” Haidl, for instance, said he believed Carona tried to help him when his son was arrested in the sexual assault case and that the sheriff handed out badges to scores of political contributors.

Haidl, whom Carona asked to run the department’s reserve deputy program, told the federal investigators that he designed the Orange County program partly on the ideas he used in San Bernardino County, where he served as a volunteer with that Sheriff’s Department.

But he wanted to be less “transparent” about giving badges in exchange for campaign donations, the report says.

Haidl said there were many conversations with Carona and Jaramillo about the 86 people on the “friends list” who helped get Carona elected, and about giving a reserve deputy’s badge to anyone who contributed $1,000. As a cover, the reserves were asked to sign forms saying the badge had nothing to do with a political contribution, “because that was exactly what was going on,” Haidl told authorities.

When the Los Angeles Times reported in 2005 that the group of 86 reserve officers had been sworn in without background checks or training, Carona denied handing out the badges as political favors. The 86 were ultimately offered an opportunity to go through the training academy or lose their credentials. Only seven went through the process.

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Haidl said that when his son, Greg, was arrested in the sexual assault case in Newport Beach, Carona told him privately that they could use the sheriff’s home in Orange as an “operations center of sorts,” from which Carona could carry messages back and forth to Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas. Haidl did not take him up on the offer “because at this point in time he no longer trusted Carona,” the report says.

Carona also granted Jaramillo, the sheriff’s other assistant, permission to talk to Rackauckas and ask him to take a personal look at the sexual assault case and try to get the teen prosecuted as a juvenile instead of an adult, according to the report.

“In Haidl’s mind,” the report says, “Carona and Jaramillo were making good on their ‘get out of jail free’ promise.”

There is no suggestion in the exhibit that Jaramillo ever talked with Rackauckas, and the district attorney prosecuted Greg Haidl and two of his friends as adults. After two trials, the younger Haidl was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. He was recently paroled.

Like Haidl, Jaramillo has pleaded guilty to tax charges and is a witness in the case against Carona. In a separate and unrelated case brought by the Rackauckas’ office, Jaramillo pleaded no contest to lying to a grand jury and unauthorized use of a county helicopter. He served a year in jail.

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christine.hanley@latimes.com

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stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

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