Carona had secret cameras in his office
May 22nd, 2008, 7:49 pm · 50 Comments · posted by PEGGY LOWE
Former Sheriff Mike Carona had a camera recording events in his office, which was linked to a computer located in a secret compartment in a closet, sources told me tonight.
In yet another revelation in a case that never ceases to astonish, the hard drive of that computer was recently found in Carona’s old office, acting Sheriff Jack Anderson informed the Board of Supervisors this morning in a confidental email. Anderson said he has shared the revelation with federal prosecutors who have charged Carona with public corruption.
Anderson, who never moved in to Carona’s office, told supervisors that he hasn’t viewed the contents of the hard drive, as it’s password protected, all my sources told me.
“It’s like something out of ‘Get Smart’,” said one of my sources, referring to the old TV series.
The revelation raises so many questions.
For instance:
– Does this confirm the odd language during Carona’s conversations with former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl in the now-infamous tapes about the “pinhole” cameras?
– How many public figures — apparently unaware — were caught on digital tape?
– What does it mean for his federal case? Have the feds been over to seize the, well, evidence?
– Is it legal to do this kind of Nixonesque public taping?
– How much did it cost taxpayers to offer Carona a private video surveillance?
Will update tomorrow when I get copies of the email or confirmation from the sheriff’s office, both of which I’m trying to get tonight.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
The more pressing question is this: How many appearances does the “Little Sheriff” make on camera. If you haven’t heard, the camera makes “things” appear bigger than they actually are.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Did Jack Anderson know about this for along time and just now told the FBI to save himself or to get appointed as the new sheriff????
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
It is illegal under state law to record a conversation meant to be confidential without the other party or parties consent.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
If it were that significant, Carona would have taken it with him when he cleaned out his office. I think Carona planted it there knowing it would be later discovered by someone. This is possibly a defense tactic to attempt to intimidate those who are witnesses for the prosecution. (Haidl, Jaramillo and whoever else) This is too funny!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
“Anderson never moved in to Carona’s office.”
I think says it all. Not only did Anderson know, but he couldn’t figure out how to get out of this. Anderson was and still is part of the Carona regime and, therefore, is part of the problem, not the solution.
Hopefully, the BoS will come to this realization. Keep in mind that in years past the citizenry couldn’t hold the hundreds of thousands of voters who were duped into voting for Carona accountable. It is much easier to assess blame and hold accountable the five individuals who will vote the next sheriff into office this time. Those five votes have faces and constituents who put them there.
Cast your vote wisely, because you (Moorlach, Norby, Bates, Nguyen, and Campbell) will not be able to claim ignorance about the decision you make.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Kudos to Anderson for reporting the existence of this tape recording device. I actually think it bodes well for his integrity to turn in a tape that he doesn’t have an access code to. Obviously he doesn’t fear anything that might come back to haunt him.
I’m beginning to like Anderson more and more. He’s making positive changes and he’s not afraid to put his cards on the table. Way to go!
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Wow. A person of power doing somthing that is……. Well lets just say
a little …. i’ll let you fill in the blank..
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Something smells, could it be Anderson as well??
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 am
Anderson is no different then Carona and now he is only trying to say his own skin by turning in the Cameras that he said he never knew about. GEE Jack How DUMB do you think the public is that they would believe that line of BS. Wow what a great example to set of Honesty&Integerity to set for the Department. By the way what happened to the transparency?????????
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:14 am
I wonder how if the tape may have been tampered with prior to be turning over to the Feds. Like the deal Anderson made with Carona to have Martini fired prior to Caron resigning.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:42 am
Carona appoints Anderson… Anderson never moves into Carona’s office…. The week before sheriff interviews, Anderson discovers secret camera. Why didn’t Carona remove the cameras before he resigned in January? Or, was the intent to spy on others with hope of escaping and/or extorting freedom of federal corruption charges? This whole scenario is not good for anyone involved.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 am
How many months did it take Anderson to find this stuff? And this clown is supposed to be the #1 crime dog? Gimme a break
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Is anyone here supprised? Looks like Carona forgot one little thing….”sorry about that chief”!
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 am
Did they find the “cone of silence”, as well?
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 am
It’s amazing how many of you are twisting everything you can to deflect attention away from the scumbag corona and his cronies.The piece o’ sh*t and his fellow scum are not being railraosed but are being treated as the criminal garbage they are.Jail them and let the other inmates take care of these jerks.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:36 am
Obviously we are all exercising conjecture but it could be that Corona knew that it would eventually come out that he had the camera/recording system and if he removed it, the evidence would be damaging far worse than if he left it. I suspect that any videos that were damaging to Corona have been deleted and erased to DOD standards.
I think that those who said that Anderson knew are probably correct, but even if he is “clean” and did not know, it seems that it would be prudent to stay out of Corona’s office until all the legal action is done. I certainly would not have moved into his old office; it would be like skipping the pan and jumping directly into the fire.
Just my opinion
Sincerely, HJ
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 am
This is like the Nixon secret recordings. that lady who Carona appointed to handle his duties while he was on paid leave will be involved with the tampering of the recordings. History will repeat itself.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:53 am
This is hilarious! If anyone thinks any of this isn’t calculated, then you never worked for the department. Yeah right like there’s going to be anything usable on the hard drive. Carona would have taken all of that with him, he’s not that dumb. Although considering what might be in the testimony of Haidl and Jaramillo, it might lend credence to what they have said. Hey Mike, try to have them sentence you to Terminal Island so your family doesnt have to drive so far!
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:59 am
I think they shouls ALL be put under a polygraph test! You can’t trust anyone anymore! You give these people power of something and thay take advantage of it. I also agree with “CASECLOSED” comment…How long did Anderson know about this???? Perfect timing on his part…since he’s applying for sheriff! I don’t trust any of them.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
Of the top 5 officers in the OCSD, 4 are gone and maybe this video will usher out the 5th.
The issue is how deep and corrupt does this go? We know at least down to the rank and file in many of the sub-departments of the Sheriff’s department. We know this from the grand jury report.
The OC Register ran a report of 30-years of secrecy and corruption by this department yet, its editorial staff and reporters appear to only support existing, unionized sheriff’s to replace the old unionized corrupt Sheriffs.
It went out of its way to marginalize any non-police/sheriff looking to assist the taxpayers in fixing the office by not even mentioning them in news coverage or calling them “long-shots”.
This biased “paper-cut” by the OC Register prompted the CotoBuzz (covering Coto de Caza) to angerly denounce the OC Registers business practice. The OC Supervisors, did not, have not, and will not interview nor did the search firm assigned by the OCBS interview any non-union police/sheriff’s It simply never honored their commitment to “find the best and brightest in our community” to step up and fix this problem.
So, who is at fault? The OCBS? The OCSD or the taxpayers that simply sat by and did not manage their government or services and allowed it to happen?
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 am
So what if he had cameras?
Most all of the establishments and homes you go into today have them and people not make a big deal over it.
So big deal, so what if he had a hidden camera?
It’s sort of like people don’t think anyone is watching them in their daily lives but someone is, and that One is God.
What is it that people are afraid of getting caught on tape doing?
If you are not doing anything wrong while on the camera, it won’t incriminate you.
The majority of use is for protection, and or to document.
Nothing wrong with that.
,,,
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
Hunt’s attorneys have got to be rubbing their palms together with glee over this….
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 am
Sorry, Maxxx, can’t even suggest inmates get involved in discipline you know. Look at the accusations at Lacy. Somebody, probably jokingly, said “hey, take care of this guy”, and the rest is history. Leave the deputies out of it entirely, let the feebies take care Carona and his scumbag buddies. The deputies never wanted that trash to begin with, just the bottomfeeders.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:26 am
One telling statement:
“Anderson told supervisors that he hasn’t viewed the contents of the hard drive, as it’s password protected . . .”
Which means that Anderson attempted to access computer’s drive and view the contents, but was unable to do so. Only then did he advise the feds.
Didn’t we just have another sheriff that operated this way.
Well, there’s tranparency for you. It appears that Anderson learned well from Carona’s leadership: “When all else fails, how can this benefit me?”
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
I’m sure Anderson was sweeping for bugs left behind by Galinski when he found the camera. I’m sure it never occured to him with all this talk about “pinhole cameras” that Carona had one a few feet from his office. Brilliant. I’m sure Carona wants everyone to believe he has a floppy. I’m sure the hard drive was washed DOD style so forensics couldn’t come up with anything, or maybe not. Uh Oh Jack.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:41 am
Under the circumstances, had the equipment been important to Corona’s innocence or guilt, the equipment would not still be there. He would have taken it with him and destroyed it. I have to think that this is a lot about nothing.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
What a shame…
This guy Corona deserves to be locked up for life. What is wrong with us as a society where we allow someone with this kind of evil to rise to the highest levels of our county law enforcement? In the end, it is our fault. People like Corona will always exist. Where are the safeguards we need to prevent this from happening again?
I want to once again congratulate the OCR for it;s fine reporting on this and other matters (toll road). Your readership will increase as your reporting standards increase. Continue to push ahead and write ‘em as you see them. We are waiting for the next page in this story. And that page won’t be phoned in to the DA by anyone as this story was. It’ll be unearthed through good reporting. I’m betting on the OCR to get that story. May God help us all to rebuild our safe community.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Is this out of context? How many other police/sheriff’s locations have rooms that have hidden recording equipment? My guess is that there are many all over the place. Nothing said in a law enforcement location should be considered private.
The Nixon comment earlier doesn’t apply either. Nixon’s problem was that he was taking advantage of what was then a new “Voice Operated” recording equipment. He had the on/off switch removed that had been there with previous presidents. The on/off switch was returned after Nixon! So the Oval Office is already rigged for recording. Which makes one realize why Clinton used the side room for his little something special!
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 am
Again, so what if he had a camera.
You all just want to point the finger, when there are 3 pointing back at you.
,,,
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:30 am
So why did he leave the laptop behind? Doesn’t make sense. I bet it is already wiped clean. He is too smart to leave something unless he wanted it left there. Bet there are things on there that will incriminate other public figures if it still has the files.
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 am
All of the backyard theories of “I bet this & I bet that” just crack me up. When things don’t work out as you have bet do you ever feel publicily humiliated? Most of these comments are funny enough to go on a comedy show.
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
I should have also said many of the comments are “often wrong, however none of you are ever in doubt”.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Hello? Ding-ding! The former Sheriff is corrupt. Recording a conversation without the other party’s consent is a crime. The intrigue is all about what could potentially be on the hard drive when Carona was having closed door meetings with the various unsavory types we know of plus the ones yet dicovered. Kinda like what Haidl did to Carona.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
LC,
1) Which GOD might be watching? Mohommed, Jesus, Bhudda, Howard Cossell?
2) Elected politicians are’nt supposed to have hidden camera’s, especially a guy in charge of policing.
3) I know, I know, they’re not supposed to steal, blackmail, lie, hook up with Russian hookers, Have affairs, take money illicitly either.
But, hey this OC and Mike Corona. He can do anything right. At least until he hits Lompoc.
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Kudos you need to put down the crack pipe if you think Anderson knew nothing about Carona knowing about the camera in his office.After all were you not on his Command Staff!!!!!!GEe where was the honesty&Intergerity you talk about to the Deputies Guess it dosne’t apply to you???????
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
The hilarity continues. It’s only how many days until the board of supervisors selects the permanent sheriff? Jack just now found the cameras and computer? Riiiiiiiight…….
May 24th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Are we really stupid enough to believe that the boys in Dignitary Protection, who played a part in installing and monitoring this equipment failed to notify Anderson of it’s existence the day Carona vacated? Carona didn’t even drive himself most of the time and I am certain that he did not operate and maintain (Systems?) this equipment. No, either Anderson is releasing this info now for political purposes, or he (and Schroeder) had the hard drives sanitized in the last several months. Anderson is NOT smart enough to have found this equipment on his own. Moorlach, I don’t have much confidence in you, but don’t be fooled by this one!
May 24th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
a O.C. Sheriff once told me that many people manage to go their entire lives without committing even their first felony.
P.S. I am not a felon
May 24th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
In the comming days the Board of Supervisors will surrender their votes to Carona’s OC GOP handlers and supporters and appoint a new Sheriff who has expressed an interest to do the OC GOP establishment’s bidding. The cycle will begin again. After all, all enterprises expect some attrition.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
18Vet.. Don’t think Kudos is a staffer. His fairy tale comments can only be the comments of an unabashed, dyed in the wool Carona hugger who has lost purpose in the world. Probably that funny looking Carona pollster dude.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I guess my beloved late husband, Roger was right, I am such a ‘Pollyanna!’
I am shocked and appalled by the most recent discovery of secret cameras and digital tapings in the office of former Sheriff Mike Carona.
I was such a supporter of a man that I thought was ‘approachable’ for the minority community in Orange County that I supported his efforts to get elected twice.
Never in my wildest dreams did I fathom that Mike Carona was capable of even the hint of corruption. Now the revelation of ‘digital deceit’ makes me cringe with how naive I have been all these years about people who obtain power.
Not to mention it is against the law to tape someone without their knowlege.
Funny saying the phrase ‘against the law’ when I really did think Mike Carona was ‘the law’ for Orange County…even Larry King called him “America’s Sheriff!”
I am embarrassed on how ‘idol worship’ took over my ‘common sense.’ Never again.
May 26th, 2008 at 9:16 am
this is a note to all of you scumbags who want to talk smack without giving your real name HE WHO LAUGHS LAST LAUGHS LOUDEST now you can all go back to your my space page and pretend you are someone that you are not
May 26th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
duplojohn
There’s only One God and that one is not Mohammed, Bhudda, Howard.
Who said they’re not suppose to have hidden cams?
What the biggy?
So one is suppose to have a camera in FULL VIEW to benefit and warn the offenders conscience, to possibly stop them from doing stupid things?
When you look at your life, can you say you are without sin?
I already know the answer, so knock it off!
Same for all of you, that want to cast the first stone.
You all are FAR from being sinless.
Those who think and behave the same, will also have that same harsh judgment placed on them.
God is watching.
,,,
May 26th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Not surprising at all. Better yet, all this private taping was paid by us, the taxpayers.
Would you like to keep another self-serving, piece of crap away from the Board of supervisors? Make sure you don’t Vote for Tom Daly, the Clerk-Recorder.
Tom, plans of running for the board sooner or later. Don’t vote for him… that is unless you want another self-serving asshole who will bring in all his buddies to the County with high paying positions to do absolutely nothing.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:01 am
hey mccann…kiss my pairatestes!!! It’s easy to talk smack on all of the corrupt bastards involved in this drama….Skippy, Jaramillo, Haidl, Galisky, Bishop, and the list goes on and on….if they had been the moral, ethical people that they should have been, no one would be slammin’ them.
The only ones laughing when this is all said and done is us as some of those fools are carted off to prison and they all live the rest of their miserable lives in disgrace. Now go back and put your nose back up Skippy’s a$$ where it belongs!!!
May 27th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
why doesnt this make the front page of the OCR ? why do i have to “look” for stories regarding that scum bucket Carona ? Yet I can easily find 300 stories on cupcakes ??
May 27th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Isabel,
This was on our home page Thursday night and all day Friday. It was on the cover of the Local section in Saturday’s paper.
Peggy Lowe
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
Spy cameras are great for mounting in a concealed manner for covert surveillance situations. You can place a spy camera virtually anywhere that is small and undetected, but the most common places you will find them at are in smoke detectors and small holes in a wall. The most common forms of spy cameras are motion detector cameras and smoke detector cameras.