Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: Poor Mike Carona
OC's Embarrassing Buford T. Justice:
Law-enforcement helicopters and ground crews normally — blatantly — tail me. You should have seen them after I revealed that local cops had planted a handgun on a DUI suspect, after I wrote about a cop who ejaculated on a female motorist in Laguna Beach, and when I published photos of Sheriff Mike Carona warmly embracing a female Russian, uh, “interpreter” in his Moscow hotel room. Anyway, the cop harassment has increased recently, and I'd wondered why. My answer came this morning from Christine Hanley, who wins best story of the day.
The veteran LA Times investigative reporter wrote, “A law-enforcement network that gathers intelligence on organized crime has cut off the Orange County Sheriff's Department because of the sheriff's association with various businessmen, including a Las Vegas strip-club owner with reputed mob ties now serving time for racketeering.”
(See my revelations about Carona's slimy connection to Las Vegas titty-bar owner and convicted racketeer Rick Rizzolo here and to convicted swindler Joseph Medawar here. Or a sweet, but by no means exhaustive, compliation of misdeeds here.)
Hanley obtained a document from the Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU) that confirms the group indefinitely suspended Carona's and the OCSD's access to “criminal intelligence information.” Though LEIU is a 51-year-old, highly acclaimed professional organization connected to 250 police departments in four countries, OC Assistant Sheriff Steve Bishop, one of Carona's promoted Yes Men, told Hanley so what? But Los Angeles County 
Sheriff's Captain Steve Johnson, who helps supervise his department's major crime bureau, told the Times that the Intelligence Unit's resources are “highly valuable.”
In Hanley's story, Carona — who has mastered pouting, chick pickups and disingenuous smiling — said he's misunderstood. Could be. Perhaps our sheriff is getting close to shady characters in a counterintuitive, counterintelligence operation. Through big smiles and hugs, Carona lets the pinky-ringed hoodlums think he's their pal by showering them with fake affection and then — wham, stage two — he arrests them--exactly like Lieutenant Columbo does it on TV. He's only in stage one now, see?
H.B. police get more nudity powers!
The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to ban public nudity Monday night after complaints by Police Chief Ken Small. According to the Reg, Small was upset that a city law allowed his officers to make nudity arrests only if the suspect also displayed “behavior indicating sexual gratification.” Can you imagine the thankless hours his officers have had to spy on the nudists in hopes of seeing them gyrate in a sexual way? The new law, which is supposed to go into effect in September, bans nudity in any spot visible from a public area. Councilman Joe Carchio, a stooge for convicted crook and ex-H.B. mayor Dave Garofalo, says the government crackdown is necessary to protect “our kids.” But the paper quotes Allen Baylis with the Naturist Action Committee saying that “such laws only serve to erode liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
County Supes burn more dinero today:
Sheriff Mike Carona (R-Liarsville) wants $188,000 to replace the countertops in the jail's guard station. He desires new stainless steel ones. And he'll get it because the all-Republican Board of Supervisors has placed the item on the consent calendar for today's public board meeting. I'm not privy to the sheriff's logic on most occasions, but stainless-steel counters should make it easier to hose off a handcuffed inmate's blood after a beating.
Also, the supes plan to toss away another $175,000 to Keyser Marston and Associates Inc., which has already been handed $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to “gathering economic data applicable” to the Dana Point Harbor and to provide “analysis of data” and create “financial models for the revitalization of Dana Point.” The item is on the consent calendar as well. If approved, that means we're paying $775,000 for consulting to learn if our government is cost effective in a single operation. P.S.: This job wasn't put out for public bidding. Nice.
Did an elderly Laguna Beach man go nuts?
Imagine you are standing at a bus stop in Laguna Beach when a 75-year-old Iranian man pulls his car over, gets out, pokes you in the ribs with a sharp object, and demands that you go with him or die. Police say this is exactly what happened to a 29-year-old Laguna Niguel woman two weeks ago. According to the Coastline Pilot, the woman broke free and ran to a nearby grocery store to call the cops. The suspect, Abbas Ghane, was chased down, arrested and is out of jail on $50,000 bail. (The paper incorrectly reported bail as $75,000.) Ghane faces two felonies: making criminal threats and false imprisonment by use of violence. He's pleaded not guilty and will face a judge for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 8.
7,000 more sex offenders on California streets?
That's what will happen if the state's plan to spend $7.9 billion on new prison beds is nixed or delayed, according to state Assemblyman Todd Spitzer. In an opinion piece today for the Register, Spitzer says he's alarmed that federal judges might impose inmate population caps while the state is working on a bipartisan plan (Assembly Bill 900) to increase the number of prison beds by 53,000. He writes, “Some estimates calculate that 35,000 to 60,000 prisoners could be released into our communities as a result of such a cap.” That number includes 7,000 sex offenders, according to the former county supervisor, reserve cop and prosecutor. Spitzer said federal judges would be “irresponsible” to interfer now.
41st Governor's Cup Regatta:
From 2 to 5 p.m. today, 12 teams of junior sailboat racers from Newport Beach, San Francisco, Long Beach, New Orleans, Annapolis, the Virgin Islands and Australia will compete in the ocean off the Newport Pier. For more information, contact Nancy Mellon at (714) 998-0917.
And finally, today's little-known fact (in honor of Sheriff Mike Carona):
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
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Shawn says:
Funny the Register seems to be ignoring Sheriff Gambino's denial of resources. How intersting maybe they are to busy focusing on Frank Mickadeit having some dinner with drag queens and his trip to mass then off to shoot guns with his brothers in some city that acts like the OC...I think its called Corona?
Posted on Tuesday, Jul. 17 2007 @ 10:32AM
Debby Bodkin says:
As far as law enforcement goes in OC, only the LEADERS and their ATTORNEYS appear to be posing a serious risk to the safety of children, adults, families and the right to be secure in one's own home. In my opinion, any type of intelligence information should be kept away from any one who has a track record of destroying the lives, careers and reputations of a political adversary. You all know who you are!
It is obvious that law enforcement officials in both the DA and Sheriff's Dept. have abused power, accessed private information, ignored citizen reports regarding failures to protect those who cannot protect themselves, ignored reports of hate crimes and privacy violations of the law and prefer to spend time conducting welfare checks on someone's home when their dog barks! If you need proof, email me and proof will be provided.
We have tried for 3 years to review a felony gun possession criminal file of the former principal of Santa Margarita Catholic HS and you can be assured that the file has been reviewed by those with criminal intent to obstruct justice and deny due process in a court of law. Again, if you need proof, email me and proof will be provided.
The OC Board of Supes appear to be on the right track by attempting to gather support for a public review panel relating to OC public officials and hopefully, this would reinstate some type of checks and balances. However, the Sheriff and DA are very good at pouting, stalling and getting political support to squash the public's right to be informed and participate in matters relating to public interest and safety.
I am not sure what is going on in OC but the crimes witnessed by me, crimes committed because a trusted employee sexually abused a child or adult, a mandated reporter chose to protect his/her own career path instead of doing the right thing like telling the truth in a court of law, public officials abusing power, accessing private information and calling on the dogs to destroy careers, reputations and the public's right to the pursuit of happiness, free from self-serving political evils.
Those who are still naive enough to believe that county law enforcement officials will eventually repent for the way they have treated those who put them in public office, are losing hope. Sadly, I hope access to any information that could ENABLE more obstructions of justice and evil acts by those continually abusing power, is denied forever.
To Todd Spitzer, I am still waiting to hear from you about what you plan to do with all the sexual predators, the hundreds of former employees of the Diocese of Orange, the LA Archdicese and other religious institutions, who never faced a criminal or civil court of law, jury or Judge AND will never be legally required to register as a sex offender.
Do the numbers Honorable Spitzer... the LA Archdiocese just settled 504 lawsuits for $660 million -- HOW MANY CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS OCCURRED? The Diocese of Orange settled 87 clergy abuse lawsuits in 2004 --HOW MANY CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS OCCURRED? How many of these sexual predators are required to register as sex offenders? Do you truly believe our children are safe?
Lastly, HOW MANY CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS OCCURRED to prosecute attorneys, employees and members of the hierarchy who have ENABLED one crime after another, obstructions of justice, perjury, legal conflicts of interest, failures to protect and civil rights denials?
Posted on Tuesday, Jul. 17 2007 @ 9:18PM
Erik says:
Tell us more about this air and ground surveilance. You sort of breezed over that and I'd like to have more details.
Posted on Tuesday, Jul. 17 2007 @ 10:16PM