His departure from public life was nasty, dramatic and well-documented. But former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona got out of prison this week in a far different manner:

Quietly, and somewhat mysteriously.

Carona, 59, has left a federal prison medical center in Lexington, Ky., said Kenny Coleman, the center’s camp administrator, on Thursday. Carona served 52 months of a 66-month sentence for felony witness tampering.

The charismatic former sheriff, convicted in 2009 as part of a federal corruption investigation that rocked Orange County, had been moved from a Colorado lockup to the Kentucky medical center. While in prison, he settled a workers’ compensation case against Orange County for back and hip injuries suffered in a 2005 on-duty car accident.

No one would say why Carona – once dubbed “America’s Sheriff” by Larry King – was released early or describe his whereabouts.

But earlier this month federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said Carona likely would be moved to a halfway house to begin his resettlement with the community.

His lawyers did not return phone calls and emails. Federal prosecutor Brett Sagel, who handled the case against Carona, on Thursday said, “I literally know nothing.”

A woman who answered the phone at the home of his wife, Deborah, hung up on a reporter.

Carona, who had a 32-year career in Orange County law enforcement before he left office, is eligible for a state pension, about $195,120 annually, according to state records.

He served as the county’s top cop for nine years before he was convicted of trying to persuade a former top aide to lie for him during a federal investigation of corruption in the Sheriff’s Department.

Carona had been a personable and popular sheriff, elected to the office three times by large margins. At one time, he was mentioned as a potential lieutenant governor nominee on a ticket headed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He hugged when others shook hands. He glad-handed powerbrokers and choked up in front of cameras. He campaigned, in part, on a compelling back story – growing up with an alcoholic mother and workaholic father and finding purpose in the sheriff’s academy.

In 2002, Carona was proclaimed “America’s Sheriff” after he went on Larry King’s national television show and warned a soon-to-be-captured child killer, “Don’t eat. Don’t sleep. Because we’re coming after you.”

What Carona didn’t know at the time was that federal investigators would come after him.

Carona had used the sheriff’s office to reward political donors. He installed a wealthy supporter, Don Haidl, in an unpaid but powerful assistant sheriff’s post that critics said amounted to a “get-out-of-jail-free” card.

But it was Haidl (seen second from left in the photo) who helped send Carona to prison. Haidl got caught up in the federal corruption investigation, with authorities alleging he gave Carona illegal cash and gifts. So Haidl started secretly cooperating with investigators, wearing a hidden microphone to entice Carona into making incriminating statements.

The two men were recorded discussing how to get their stories straight when they were questioned by the grand jury about money Haidl was funneling to Carona.

The audiotape was a key piece of evidence when Carona was indicted in October 2007 on six felony corruption counts, including theft of honest services of an elected official, conspiracy and tampering with a witness.

His nine-week trial in October 2008 wasn’t just high-profile; it was downright salacious at times. His former mistress also stood trial while his wife sat in the courtroom every day. Several witnesses testified about Carona’s sexual affairs while in office.

The jury found him not guilty on all but one charge of witness tampering. Carona proclaimed the verdict a miracle from God.

He celebrated in a news briefing just outside the courthouse – unaware that inside the courthouse, U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford was fuming.

In April 2009, Guilford brought down the hammer: 66 months in federal prison.

“Trust has been harmed here,” he told Carona.

Carona served most of his time in a low-security prison in Littleton, Colo. Well-known inmates in the Colorado prison included Jeff Skilling, former chief executive of Enron Corp., and Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois.

At the prison, Carona, sporting long hair and a beard, had access to Saturday morning brunch, a leisure library, a hobby shop, a music room and a coffee shop. All inmates are expected to work, said prisons spokesman Ross. Carona had his choice of jobs in such fields as plumbing, electronics and business.

Meanwhile, back in Orange County, his portrait as sheriff was removed from department headquarters. And his tenure still stings.

State Sen. John Moorlach, who as chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors called for Carona’s resignation in 2007, said the case left a mark on all of Orange County’s elected officials as well as the Sheriff’s Department.

“It brought back that old phrase, a fish rots at the head,” said Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa.

“If you live a double life, the truth will come out, and it will cast a stain on everybody.”

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, who was appointed to lead the department after Carona’s departure, declined to comment.

“That chapter is best left behind us,” she said through a spokesman.

Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, was more philosophical.

“A judge ordered a debt be paid to society and that debt has been paid,” Dominguez said. “We can only hope that other elected officials see this as a cautionary tale of corruption and the consequences of betraying the trust of the very people you were elected to serve.”

Contact the writer: tsaavedra@ocregister.com



