Charges against Carona’s wife, ex-mistress are dropped

A federal judge Thursday dismissed charges against the wife and former mistress of ex-Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, who was acquitted earlier this month of charges that he took bribes in exchange for the powers of his office.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford ordered that related charges against Deborah Carona and Debra Hoffman be dropped, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Kenneth Julian.

Prosecutors decided not to pursue the case against the women after a jury acquitted Michael Carona of conspiracy and convicted him of only one count of felony witness tampering.

The women had been accused of benefiting from the former sheriff’s alleged scheme. Both had pleaded not guilty.

Carona, who was dubbed “America’s sheriff” by CNN’s Larry King for helping incarcerate a young girl’s killer, had been accused of doing favors for multimillionaire businessman Don Haidl and naming him assistant sheriff in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts.

Several jurors said they believed the allegations against Michael Carona but could not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because they considered Haidl, the government’s chief witness, to be untrustworthy.

The former sheriff is scheduled to be sentenced April 27 on the felony conviction. He faces up to 20 years but will probably be sentenced to only two or three, according to prosecutors. The defense has said probation is possible.

Hoffman was initially tried with Michael Carona but had her case separated in the middle of trial. She and Deborah Carona were tried together.