Acquitted of most criminal counts in a corruption case that left his badge begrimed and his once-meteoric career in tatters, the man formerly dubbed "America's sheriff" stood outside the federal courthouse in Santa Ana on Friday in an exultant mood.
The jury's verdict represented "an absolute miracle," said former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, adding that the acquittal on five counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and witness tampering reflected the forgiveness of God. He said he planned to celebrate over drinks.
Yet while he claimed victory, the 53-year-old Carona left the courthouse a felon who could face prison time on the one count of witness tampering on which he was convicted. Although the charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years, under federal sentencing guidelines Carona would probably face no more than 41 months, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor.
And in interviews after the trial, jurors said that they believed Carona had illegally accepted cash and gifts but that they were stymied by a statute of limitations that allowed them to consider only acts committed after late October 2002. The government had failed to prove that the conspiracy it alleged among Carona and his associates had involved any overt act after that, the jurors said.
"His hand was in the cookie jar. He was just quick enough to wipe the crumbs off his hands," said juror Jerome Bell, 42, a truck driver from Anaheim.
The charge on which Carona was convicted stems from an August 2007 meeting at a Newport Beach restaurant between Carona and his former assistant sheriff, Don Haidl, while prosecutors were already years into their investigation. At the meeting, Haidl carried a hidden microphone at the government's behest. The jury found that Carona tried to persuade Haidl to lie to a grand jury investigating corruption allegations.
The highest-ranking law officer to be prosecuted in Orange County, Carona could have faced 85 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Before the verdict was read Friday morning, defense attorney Jeff Rawitz prepared Carona for the possibility that he could be taken into custody immediately if convicted. Instead, there were gasps in the courtroom as the not guilty verdicts were announced. Carona and his wife, Deborah, began sobbing; Carona dropped his head on the defense table and shook. At the reading of the single guilty verdict, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.
