Carona’s back, but not at desk

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona returned to work Monday after a self-imposed leave of absence, but did not create much of a buzz in department headquarters in Santa Ana. In fact, he did not visit his office at all, department officials said.

Carona, who took two months off work to prepare for his June trial on federal corruption charges, announced through a spokesman last week that he would return Monday. Television news vans parked outside the sheriff’s Flower Street headquarters early Monday to document his return, but he never showed up.

Instead, the sheriff spent the day attending off-site meetings, said department spokesman Damon Micalizzi. He declined to say where the meetings were held but said he believed they were about conditions in county jails.

Federal prosecutors charged Carona with seven felonies in October under a Grand Jury indictment that accused the third-term, 52-year-old sheriff of using the power of his office for financial gain and witness tampering.

According to the indictment, Carona; his wife, Deborah; longtime mistress, Debra Hoffman; and several close associates accepted more than $200,000 in payments and loans and expensive gifts, including Cartier watches, designer clothing, Montblanc pens, a Sea Ray boat, a Lake Tahoe vacation, ringside tickets to an Oscar de la Hoya boxing match and luxury seats at the World Series.

The day he was charged, Carona met with reporters from several newspapers, television and radio stations to proclaim his innocence and announce he would stay in office while fighting the charges. “I’m staying because I love the job and I do a good job,” he told The Times. “Most importantly, I have committed no criminal acts.”

One week later, amid calls for his resignation from county officials and the union that represents sheriff’s deputies, Carona announced he was taking a two-month paid leave of absence. He said he would devote the time “toward battling the untrue and baseless charges made against my wife, Debbie, and me.”

While he was away, the sheriff appointed Undersheriff Jo Ann Galisky to handle the management of California’s second-largest sheriff’s department. Some county supervisors bristled at the move, saying Carona usurped their authority by appointing a temporary successor. County lawyers told supervisors that Carona was entitled to work as much or as little as he wanted, so long as he did not miss 90 consecutive days of work.

Under state law, public officials who miss three months of work can be removed from office. By returning to work Monday, Carona met the minimum requirements to keep his job for another 90 days.

Carona spent much of his free time assisting his lawyers, who have received more than 20,000 pages of investigative records from prosecutors, his attorney said last week. Whether he intends to work full time remained unclear Monday. Carona did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

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stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com