Friend of D.A. Is Subject of Inquiry

Orange County sheriff’s officials are investigating whether a friend of Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas made false statements on an application to carry a concealed weapon -- a handgun that was a gift from the district attorney, a sheriff’s spokesman said Thursday.

Sheriff’s officials described the inquiry as routine but said it came in response to an article in the Los Angeles Times that disclosed alleged inconsistencies in the concealed-weapons permit application submitted in 2000 by Newport Beach businessman Patrick Di Carlo.

“When we’re made aware of situations like this, it’s routine for us to look into it,” said sheriff’s spokesman Jon Fleischman.

Di Carlo’s son, Patrick Jr., said that neither he nor his father would comment on the sheriff’s inquiry.

In April 2000, Rackauckas gave Di Carlo a handgun as a present. Later that year, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department issued Di Carlo a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Di Carlo indicated in his application that he had not been a party to a lawsuit in the previous five years. Court records show he was named as a defendant in two lawsuits during that time.

On the application, Di Carlo indicated he had never been the subject of a restraining order. But a judge in 1977 issued a temporary restraining order against Di Carlo following allegations that he had threatened to send longshoremen to assault a business associate in Hawaii.

In an earlier interview, Di Carlo said he did not list the lawsuits because he did not consider himself a significant part of the legal actions. He also said he was never served with a copy of the temporary restraining order and was not aware of it, and he denied making any threat.

If the sheriff’s officials find inaccuracies in Di Carlo’s application, they will seek to interview him and then “pursue a course of action based on what we find out,” Fleischman said.