I remember a few years back when Sheriff Carona was a guest on Rev. Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power", at the Crystal Cathedral.

There he was, on the stage, espousing Christian/family values to Rev. Schuller and the entire congregation.

Now this happens.

It brings to mind the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35).

MOXLEY, I ONCE DOUBTED YOU ON THE SHERIFF. BUT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. YOU WERE THE ONE GUY WHO HAD IT NAILED YEARS AGO. CONGRATS.

It is my opinion and always has been that Mike Carona and his office are in involved in the cover up of the murder of my daughter Andrea Nelson.

Maybe now Carona can spend time in his own sadistic and evil facility!

Linda Cator
Still Fighting for Justice for the murder and cover up of my daughter Andrea Nelson (my opinion)

Congratulations, Scott. You were (how do the Republicans put it?) right from the start. Thanks for your courage; that was one long, nervy assignment.

PS: I've always loved this comment from OC Blog, back around the publication of photos of the sheriff with his arms around suspicious characters:

"[T]he OC Weekly and Swaim are no friend of law enforcement. The OC Weekly will publish whatever it can to bash cops and deputies. Hunt and his cadre sing the praises of the Weekly and even had advance knowledge of this story. Seems that there is some coordination taking place between OC Weekly and Hunt. As long as the OC Weekly publishes anti-Carona stories, Hunt will be right there alongside Swaim and Moxley."

Turns out maybe Moxley was the better friend of real law enforcement.

yep, it's a banner day for actual law abiding folks.

good work.

Moxley... YOU ARE THE MAN! Your hard work and accurate reporting has provided a public service beyond most imaginations.

I nominate Moxley to receive my award for investigative journalism.

Again, leave it to the OC Weekly to be years ahead of other newspapers when it comes to Orange County's hallowed elected leaders. Hey Sheriff: say hi to Pam Houchen in the slammer, will ya?

Great job on this story. It's great to see the spinners trying to bury this story. The good men and women of the OCSD deserve better leadership, let the healing begin!

Now are the Supervisors ready to do what must be done?

Great job, Scott! I just beamed reading this. All those phone calls and deadline frenzy from our days together were worth it!

Scott! Accept my congratulations for your great journalism, yes, but also my admiration for the unfathomable courage it has taken to do this work for so long in the face of harrassment and danger. You are a hero. Dave Wielenga

Thanks Scott, I've linked your Carona stories for the last year or so, and today is happy day for me. It's about time the OC Register and the rest of the local media finally exposed this guy for the scum he is.

Lets not forget Lt. Bill Hunt advisor Tim Whitacre. He sworeup and down this county that the sheriff was corrupt. He even went as far as to fight the Republican establishment endorsement of Corona during last year's re-election campaign. Bill Hunt and Tim Whitacre are two guys that we should also give thanks too. They tried to tell us different, one ended up being demoted and losing his job the other spent countless hours(away from his family and business) fighting for what we all knew was corana shady dealings.

OC Weekly Readers:

When you start reading tomorrow about all of the politicians attacking Carona and asking for his resignation, ask yourself where they were during the past several years when everyone with any knowledge about OC government knew he was corrupt. Moxley had been printing this stuff for ages, and all the high-ranking elected and appointed officials were on notice of his disgraceful behavior. The only question people had was whether the US Attorney would consider the case strong enough to seek an indictment.

Will America's Sheriff become America's Inmate? Will the Little Sheriff testify? Stay tuned.

Carona is a crook and a clown. He is an embarrassment to the sheriff's department and to the good people of Orange County. We need Bill Hunt in that office to get us back to where we were before the "Bailiff" took over.

Who are the idiots that actually think Hunt should replace Carona. Are you fucking nuts? It is a matter of public record that Hunt played a important role in the cover-up of the Haidl drug bust. This cover-up is the basis for one of the charges in the indictment. Perhaps he's not the best person to remove the filth from OCSD.

Pete Fundy supports Sheriff Carona 100 percent.
As one of many OC residents who voted to re-elect the man just a short time ago, I refuse to admit that R. Scott Moxley is right about...well, about anything.

If Sheriff Carona is guilty as charged, however, Pete Fundy believes the punishment should be swift and harsh. He should be required to pick up trash with Snoop Doggy Dogg for at least a couple of weekends.

Warmly yours,
Pete Fundy
Senior Editorial Writer
OCLegend.Com

Nicely done Moxely. I was not a believer, but I am now. Maybe he can make the list for the ten most corrupt cops in OC. Its time for a police commission, and lets not forget about how racist Hunt is either.

Come investigate the HB Chief and find him dirty. The whole Ashley Macdonald killing is tragic and stinks of a coverup, and all of the immigration roundups at the home depot are racist

Al Gore needs to pass over his Nobel Peace Prize to Moxley... afterall, what is more important in the world? Global warming OR protecting justice, integrity and the safety of the public?

MOXLEY... you are a first class professional investigative reporter. To all the OC Republicans who still believe the OC Weekly is a rag... TAKE AN ALKA SELTZER tonight... because the fun is just beginning.

I felt so strongly about Corona's corruption that for the first time in my life I became politically active and helped with Hunt's campaign (and I do not work for OCSD).

Moxley, you do go overboard on conspiracy theories regarding law enforcement and you're not exactly impartial. That having been said, you were right on regarding Corona, and I suspect that this case wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't kept up the pressure. Damn fine job, you biased bastard!

Carona tarnished the badge for the vast majority of cops who are honest to a fault and strive to do the right thing. He should resign immediately and Hunt should be appointed his replacement until a new election can be held.

moxley: you were right, you were right, you were right! keep his feet to the fire, sheriff corona is a hypocrite of the worst kind. if we can't trust our law enforcement, our society crumbles... can't wait to see corona surrender his gun when he goes to federal court tomorrow!

hahahahhahahahahaha!!!

Scott, you are without a doubt the best investigative reporter in this godforsaken county. I'm sure you know who's next on my wish list. :-)

Anyone else find it more than a coincidence that the U.S. Attorney's Office brought these charges AFTER Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales left the White House?

Also left unsaid is why our DA, Tony "I'll Never Indict a Republican" Rackauckas failed to bring any charges. Certainly, over all these years, he must have heard the rumors within the OC GOP establishement. Or read OC Weekly.

Maybe Carona will roll over on Rackauckas and the fun will continue.

Great Job Scott!

It was clear during the last Sheriff's race that Carona is a corrupt politician who has associated with mobsters, given badges for favors, lied repeatedly on his political reports, had his charity shut down and the list goes on and on.......In addition, he is morally corrupt and has caused serious embarassment to the line deputy sheriff's who protect the residents of OC......now he has been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury.....there is no way the Feds are going to bring a weak criminal case against a sitting Republican Sheriff....

The key is how deep does this corruption or mismanagement extend into the ranks of the current and former department managers?

The only way to ensure an impartial evaluation is to bring in an outside police executive to get to the bottom of things, assess and make any needed changes....Commander Ralph Martin fits this bill and should be appointed....he has a proven track record of honesty, integrity and leadership!

Bill Hunt was part of the managerial status quo and therefore part of the problem at the OCSD......If he were appointed his enemises blood would flow and his buddies would be promoted....Martin on the other hand, has no enemies or friends at OCSD and owes nothing to them....he is the only one who can make an impartial assessment of the agency and institute meaningful change.....

Congratulations Scott! The crooked cop was exposed thanks to your efforts. I'm glad you linked him to our Las Vegas Mob. They were probably paying him cash to share confidential Interpol information about secret Mafia investigations by law enforcement agencies.

Carona's bailiff could be Irvine's Larry Agran. Don't worry, boat loads of cash to cover legal fees can also be sent to Monterey and Agran's 20/20 PAC to immediately redirect hundred's of thousands into his hometown voter guide. Just look at the roster of great park business interests who already transferred big bucks to Agran. Is Agran next!?

Great job Scott. Keep digging. Word on the street is his close ally down the street and his legal advisor may be next. Orange County better wake up. How much have they spent defending the two top law men in the County? OC will likely pay LT. Hunt a hefty sum.

It's nice to see the indictment also includes "JGC," AKA Joseph Cavallo. That sleazy shyster will roll over on everyone. Carona announced that he won't resign because he "loves the job." I guess it will be up to the OC Board of Supervisors to clear the sheriff's department of this inept, corrupt bailiff who wanted to be a cop! Good riddance. Keep up the good work and don't let up, Scott.

As I've said many times over the years, you were one of the few that saw through the smokescreen. Thanks for your good work... and don't stop! It's a lumbering and inexact system, but at least it eventually caught up with the bad guys... let's see how it ends up! The voters will still be the unknown factor they've been, but at least we may see a brighter day in Orange County now.

I am going to start saving all of these articles, and start using the OC Register for the birdcage. Why all the happy talk over there, when this story ranks right up there with the bankruptcy? Something is rotten in Vanillaville.

When I read the article the first thing I thought of was Moxley, who can be cranky but is usually right. The Sheriff is screwed. The Feds would NOT go after him given the fierce and public fight they know he would wage if they didn't have the goods going in.

scotty hey man YOU ARE THE F%$#ING MAN!!!! you are the one and only true writter . from that rapist greg haidl and now corona you been saying it for years and i love your writting. you knew it all along and this is your time to gloat hahaha. keep up the awesome writing and i hope they boost your pay you are worth every dollar man. respect given to a smart writter who deserves the congrats man. keep it great and honest work and great stuff i hope kcal or nbc the major's look at you and it will be the greatest investment ever. corona knew what he was doing the fbi took down duke cunningham and has a hard on for other's corona is just the begining . moxley your are te best writter i followed and belived in since day one. justice finally being served its about damn time!!!!!!

An outstanding development! Long-time readers of OC-Weekly have known of this mafia Sheriff's hypocrisy and criminality for years (as well as the soon-to-be indicted DA). Word-on-the-street was that O.C. more appropriately stood for Organized Crime rather than Orange County. But times - they are a changing!

Hopefully as Carona's criminal minions are likewise uprooted, there will be an abundance of openings within the Sheriff's department which will be filled with honest, loyal, community-minded, civil servants as opposed to the egotistical, sadistic, corrupt, gang-mentality jerks which now desecrate the uniform.

Orange County surely has better and brighter days ahead. Already the sun appears to be shining a little brighter, the air seems a little fresher, and O.C. residents safer and more at peace!

Scott, Forget Corona’s wish to become "America's Cop," instead, it's you baby, you've become America's Muckraker. Hello Pulitzer Prize! Head over to Bloomingdales and pick out your suit for the awards. Hey, maybe you can get Corona’s goons to cover the cost. While they're at it, have them pay for some new furniture to display that much deserved trophy.

corona is communistman

Glad Corona is finally getting his. Now it is time to really clean up the OCSD, I mean really clean house. A lot of heads need to roll, there are a lot of dirty cops - but then what do you expect when someone like Corona is their leader. Corona, his wife and his mistress - what a sick combination!

I trust this time Corona will have to pay for his defense out-of-his-own pocket. The last time he was under investigation his legal fees were paid for with tax payers money, the very people he has been ripping off! He certainly has stolen/ received enough kickbacks to pay for the best defense possible - the next few months should be interesting. He may surrender himself today, but he also needs to resign without further argument. Corona is a disgusting, disgrace to mankind, let alone law enforcement.

Thank you.

I looked back at some of your stories on Carona, Scott, and found the following from 7-6-2006, "[Carona] spent $12,500 in county funds for a 'computer voice stress analyzer.' The sheriff justified the purchase by saying the machine will help him determine when somebody’s lying. Now, that’s an irony." I wonder if Carona's conscience even bothers him enough that the analyzer would be able to detect if he's lying.

I hate to kick a man while he's down, but man -- is this going to get juicier and juicier. I saw him giving an interview yesterday to a TV news reporter and, in his best PR manner, denying that he did anything wrong, that he would not resign, and would be vindicated, blah blah blah. Does this mean the County has to pay for his defense? I feel sorry for his wife who looked so sad on camera while giving a statement in support of her husband. We can only guess what anguish she has had to endure.

Looks like his being re-elected with only 50.9% of the vote turned out to be a blessing in disguise for OC. If he were out of office the heat probably wouldn't have been turned up on him.

My hat's off to you (and to the FBI), Scott.

This is so exciting!! I have been following your reports on Corona for years...and now he is getting indicted! I can't wait to read this Thursday's OC Weekly!! Great job Scott! You are by far one of the best reporters in Southern California!!!

Corona will prevail as he is innocent. This is just a frame by two desperate individuals, Jaramillo and Haidl. Corona did nothing wrong. Maybe he had an affair, but is that sufficient to send him to prison? The feds have an innocent man in jail today.

Moxley,
I am truly impressed. For years I've read about Sheriff Mike Carona's wrongdoings in your paper and have become more and more infuriated with him in every new story. When I woke up this morning and saw the headline on the front page of the OC Register, I nearly wept.

This is the first step of many to come in the march for justice here in Orange County.

I salute you, Moxley. You do fine work and you're a fine reporter.

- Trevor Clarke
Dana Point

I am estatic that Michael Corona is once again under investigation. However, all of his assests should be frozen, and he should be put in the slammer, along with his wife and mistress, just like anyone else. He should be treated the same way that he has treated others, even when they were not guilty. Also, Deputies Daniel Salcedo, Brian Sutton, Johnson and Hoffman also should be charged along with him. They are his clean up lackies! They clean up after he and his buddies have their parties with young girls, (that are mostly illegals coming to this county - end up cleaning for him and his wife, but good ole Mike likes them young and after all they are nothing, right! That along with drugs and various other vices he and his wife enjoy. Then they just disappear, if they are lucky they might get back to Mexico, but not too many are that lucky. Nellie Gail reeks of murder and corruption!

I sincerely hope he gets convicted this time.

Yes, many congratulations to Scott for his tenacious reporting. I feel sorry for the wife, though. Was it really necessary to drag her into the slime with these other slugs.

With all this commentary and news updates, I can't help but notice the glaring silence from Carona's former PR hack, John Fleischman and his just updated blog read by the Republican pundants in OC. Surely, you would think he would have updated postings to scoop the Weekly? Unless....

Still awaiting....
http://www.flashreport.org/

Thank you, Mr. Moxley for your perserverance!

It's about fucking time!!!!

(let's see how the "Untouchables" fare without their "ringmaster!)

For those of you who think Carona is innocent, the Feds don't indict anyone on tax evasion and male fraud unless they have a rock solid case. Mark my words, he will make a deal to finger other politicians.

Moxley,
It took a real ferret to expose this weasel! Congratulations!

Moxley:

It’s time for you, Arellano, Mickadeit and few other gonzos to start a real newspaper or online media entity to serve the information starved citizens in the OC. Oh wait, that would mean telling the real truth about how public officials truly operate, revealing unrestrained county construction development and how were all just serfs in the Irvine Company Castle. Well, there goes the ad support.

Great job.

Oscar: that muckraking entity is called the OC Weekly. The Irvine Company pulled their ads from our papers years ago after we talked about his love babies.

Maybe now someone will believe me when I say I never did what the Sheriff Department accused me of, and then destroyed my life and career.
Good job Scott, keep up the good work.
g.kluchonic

You've made Hunter proud Mr. Moxley, and myself.

Well the nay sayers are out in numbers, proclaiming Mike Carona guilty without knowing what he is charged with, much less what evidence the U.S. Attorney has to support his case. Please remember that the Federal Grand Jury System is no different than that of the State and a Prosecutor controls and usually gets whatever finding he/she wants. If the case hinges on the evidence given by the two losers Jaramillo and Haidl, the "not guilty" verdict will be swift. Anyone who is half-way objective can see that these guys are slinging mud trying to save their own sorry asses. They are no better than the low life jailhouse snitches Cops use to make their cases.

Whatever happened to the old concept of a person being "innocent until proven guilty?" Oh yes, that doesn't make news or sell newspapers, does it? While the Sheriff is on his knees, everyone is lining up to cast stones, including the Candidates he beat in the last election. No sour grapes there, is there? One thing for certain, out of this sorry episode, Mike will find out who his real friends are and who are the fair weather sailors.

Meanwhile, if the evidence is there, a jury will find Mike Corona guilty. Until that time, I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt and he is innocent in my book.

My only regret about the Carona indictment and probable conviction is that "America's sheriff" won't get to share a cell with Jamarillo or Greg Haidl, who are in state prison. But maybe he can hook up on the yard with Daddy Haidl.

In light of the many, many years of Moxley's exposure of Carona's evildoing, the only mystery is why the indictment took so long to come down.

Why didn't Larry Mantle talk to you Scott on KPCC yesterday instead of the OCRegister??? You and your hard work saw this coming some time ago. You have more to say on this than anyone else in my book.

Moorloch was the ONLY County Board Supervisor with the guts to call on Corona to resign. None of the other supervisors dared mention anything negative about our chief law enforcement official who was indicted on 7 felony counts. These supervisors who keep their mouths shut are sure fine representatives for their constituents, huh? I bet 90% of OC residents want Carona ousted immediately.

Manden a todos estos policías corruptos a la cárcel. Lo peor que por ser Policías, los envían a una área especial. Donde tienen muchos privilegios.

I've been following your Carona stories for some time. Thanx, Scott!

Yes, Carona is innocent till proven guilty; but at best, his ethical judgment is incredibly warped.

Citizens of OC, if Carona won't step down, let's take matters into our own hands. Please contact me if you'd like to join the Carona recall effort: tiritilligreen@sbcglobal.net.

-Béa Tiritilli

I never believed, I mean really, in the 10 years
that I haved lived and watched 'the little sheriff' that I would actually see this happen,and a big part of the reason is you, SCOTT, and your predicessor on this'beat', Steve Lowery...thanks to all of you, and sorry about my bouts of 'high anxiety and emotions' during the years leading up to this,sincerely, Thom Barney, and on her behalf, (I am sure) Carla caro Quintero Barney........................11/1/07

Scott-
You know I can't tell you enough how much I admire your work!
I never can wait for the next Moxley investigation!

Thank you for being the only media outlet that would talk about the Andrea Nelson case. You printed articles about the story when no one else had the balls too.

Roger (Carona) (aka the little sheriff)says:
October 31, 2007 11:17

"Corona will prevail as he is innocent. This is just a frame by two desperate individuals, Jaramillo and Haidl. Corona did nothing wrong. Maybe he had an affair, but is that sufficient to send him to prison? The feds have an innocent man in jail today."

This, dear Scott, is a man who has never read your work....or comes from another planet, or his brother Mike forced him to write that piece.
You have scored THE touchdown. I once said your work didn't get enough exposure... I think that is in the past.

Sorry to hear about what happened to you George K.
And to Carona it is all about Karma.

As far as I know having a mistress is not a crime.......This should stay between him and his wife becuase it is none of any of our business. Trust me he is not the only politician with a side kick and just becuase he is in public office doesnt mean we should know what he does sexually. Unless it is a crime than by all means otherwise leave his sex life and mistress out of all this.

Kudos to the alternative press.
Remember, it was a Weekly that outed our child raping former Governor here in Oregon.
R. Scott, you are famous!

Scott;

Congratulations on a job well done.

Everyone else has already said what I would have said and I already said it to you years ago anyway.

I just can't fucking wait to find out what else you were right about.

With profound respect,
Alex Brant-Zawadzki

Scott,

just wanted to add my kudos to your perseverance and dedication.

Now, if you can just get the feds to open their eyes on Agran...

Well done.

Supervisor Moorloch is right, Carona should step down. Given the number of criminal counts, the fact that two of the three witnesses against him are trained attorneys who know what is required by the Feds to get a criminal indictment and conviction, it is difficult to believe that one of these felonies won't stick.

Obviously, if in fact he took a kickback from one of the attorneys who now is testifying against him for a referral to that attorney, he has convicted himself in the COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION. Taking money that could have gone to a dead deputies wife is a cardinal sin and could only be perpetrated by a person without any moral compass. Cont’d

Carona is ineffectual as the Sheriff of Orange County and should step down or be removed. The Board of Supervisors should select someone to take his place, preferably not from the command staff at Orange County Sheriff’s Department. It is difficult to determine how deep this corruption goes and I believe the tax payers of Orange County deserve much better. Appointing someone to interim sheriff who was appointed by Mike Carona is unconscionable. The level of (Group Think) by his appointees cannot be quantified. Cont’d

The Board of Supervisors needs to bring new blood to clean house of his command staff whom have been yes persons for this guy. We need someone like The Officer from Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (Martin?) who has the command experience to fix things at this department
I think I speak for many Citizens of Orange County when I say, Quit mister Carona, be a man and let your wife and your girlfriend off the hook. You, better than anyone else, knew what you were doing when you did it. This can’t be said for your girlfriend or spouse.

Finally, but oh wait just a minute ? your missing the rest of the story. Sheriff Corona was using his access to NCIC and OCCIB files to protect his friends and the PONZI scams.. like Capitalwerks, COOKHAM Holdings, LLC Dan and Diane Harkey of Point Center Financial the money moving firms and Atascadero Ventures, LLC and HFL Express,LLC and the many more money moving people Ron Hertel and his thug man Robert JS Fowler i suspect soon more indictments. Just follow the money trail and it's phony companies and off shore deals. Not to mention inflation of property to get higher than average loans via PCF who apparently has ties with Cartel's and moving of the $.

Corona needs to step down and get Bill Hunt in there right away!!!!
We are citizens ,we deserve to have someone that will get the job done.
Bill Hunt tried to warn us. We(they)did not listen.

why do you guys blame all republicans, for this scum's life, if he lied about evething else what makes you think he did't lie about being a republican. i had a son in the orange county jail and one of corona's creeps tried to set him up to be beat up or murdered, and i am a republican and i am not like this scum bag of a person. all republicans are not like this maggot, that is so sick to think we are all like this, if you are of a different race does that mean every person of that race are alike, some are good some are bad,

I have the same feelings about Mike Corona, as I do about the governor of Illinois Blago and Scott Peterson..That same smug look on their faces, as if they are above the law...I hope he gets whats coming, when he goes behind bars, for many, many, many years!!!!

Nice job now finish it. The Hadel kid is out and I saw him drinking at a bar in Laguna last week. His dad had a conviction from a IRS investigation with no additional jail time and our great DA who was selling badges for political contributions goes unharmed. How does this all happen and where is your follow up story.