2002 rape case involving Haidl's son reverberates into Carona trial

That thud reverberated this week in, of all places, the corruption trial in federal court of former Sheriff Mike Carona. In 2002, Don Haidl was an assistant sheriff and one of Carona's most trusted allies. He also was Greg Haidl's father. Now, he's Carona's chief accuser in a trial in which the government alleges, among other things, that he lavished Carona and the sheriff's top aide, George Jaramillo, with gifts, cash and illegal campaign contributions.

But in those troubled days of July 2002, the government suggests, Don Haidl was looking for payback for all his generosity. A little thank-you, maybe.

If jurors see it the same way, it may go a long way toward answering a question sure to be on their minds -- aside from an unpaid position as assistant sheriff, what did Don Haidl get for his alleged largesse?

Part of the answer, Haidl testified this week, was to enlist some help for his son. And in ways not previously known, his testimony suggested that Carona's involvement put the former sheriff in the vortex of the controversial rape case.

After his son's arrest, what Haidl most wanted was for the Orange County district attorney's office to charge Greg as a juvenile. Jaramillo was tapped by Carona to meet with Tony Rackauckas and press the issue, Haidl testified.

When Assistant U.S. Atty. Brett Sagel asked Haidl what he thought of Carona and Jaramillo's support, Haidl replied: "That they, at the very least, owed me this."

However, the effort to persuade Rackauckas fizzled, and Jaramillo only succeeded in angering the D.A., Haidl testified.

But that had not been the only attempt to help, Haidl testified. In the early days of the case, Jaramillo went to San Bernardino, where young Haidl lived with his mother, to counsel and comfort the family. In the process, he upset Newport Beach detectives who wanted to talk to Greg, only to hear Jaramillo suggest that he not.

Haidl also testified that Carona sandwiched meetings with him around a meeting with Rackauckas in the first week after the incident. However, his testimony suggested that not much came of that other than Carona's offer to let him use his home as a place to strategize and as a refuge from the media that had converged on Haidl's Newport Beach home.