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Carona trial: Haidl talks about boat given to ex-sheriff
November 20th, 2008, 1:10 pm · 15 Comments · posted by Rachanee Srisavasdi
Don Haidl, a government witness in the public corruption trial of ex-sheriff Mike Carona, was queried today about a secretly-recorded exchange with Carona regarding a Sea Ray boat prosecutors say he illegally gave to the former lawman.
Carona is accused of accepting thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for public favors. He is on trial along with his former mistress, Debra Hoffman, who prosecutors say also reaped illegal benefits from Carona’s actions. Carona’s wife, Deborah, is also charged, but goes to trial later.
One of the government’s accusations is that Haidl gave Carona the boat, valued at more than $5,000, around May 2001, and that Carona gave Haidl a check for roughly the same amount to make it falsely appear he bought the boat, according to the criminal indictment.
Today is Haidl’s ninth day of testimony. Carona’s attorney Jeff Rawitz asked him about an exchange in which Haidl said the men talked of the boat. Jurors listened to audio excerpts of the talk, which was recorded last summer.
“Here’s what we did … I gave you the cash, George was in the room when that happened … In a gift tax, they can come to me,” Haidl said in the recording.
Rawitz asked Haidl what the passage referred to. Haidl said he was referring to the cash from the boat.
“Why did you say, George was in the room?” Rawitz asked.
“To get Mike to admit, on tape, that George was in the room when he received cash,” Haidl said.
But Carona went on to talk about the boat.
“But I mean, part of the reality of this thing Don, when you gave me the boat, the boat had a number of problems …. and you give me cash to make repairs on it ….” Carona says on tape.
“This is the story he would like me to tell,” Haidl testified.
Haidl later says on the tape: “I got no problem lying my ass off about anything.”
Haidl testified: “This is a lie. I didn’t give him money to go get repairs done. The boat was not in bad shape. I was advising him the story … would not work. The story wouldn’t fly.”
About the case
- Complete coverage
- Live notes from the trial
- Frank Mickadeit’s column on Carona
- Interactive of Mike Carona’s career
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DENA BUNIS, Washington bureau chief, 202-628-6381 or dbunis@ocregister.com
CHRIS KNAP, Politics team leader, 714-796-2240 or cknap@ocregister.com
BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento correspondent, 916-449-6046 or bjoseph@ocregister.com
JENNIFER MUIR, County government reporter, 714-796-7813 or jmuir@ocregister.com
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THESE JURORS MUST BE WANTING TO STRANGLE RAWITZ
Don’t get me started. These people make me sick and they owe me money! I have to work hard and pay taxes and for what?
For these scumbags?
Well, I owe on back taxes and I am going to write to Obama and ask for a bail out because I am so poor!
I better get it, too!
I am mad today.
Corona, I hope you go to prison for the rest of your life and everyone involved with you does too!
Haidl is lying to get his a$$ out of trouble ,.I hope he goes to prison for giving false testimony. Like father like son.
to 10yrsafter,
You dont even work so how can you ask for a bail out ? Your’e alway’s on this computer.
YEAH AND WHY DO YOU OWE BACK TAXES? normally when that happens it is no ones fault but the person who owes them.
It’s none of my business and don’t care but owing back taxes is not something I would advertise.
Rick - you say Haidl is lying? Does this mean you support Big Sheriff Corona? You say “like father, like son.” Well, father obviously did share the “get out of jail free” theory with his son as son told all his friends about it - as testified to by his “friends.”
Dorothy, I’m laughing. So sorry - why did you post to say that something is none of your business and you don’t care?
As for me, I hope Carona spends his days in prison and I hope Mrs. Carona divorces him quickly when this is over. By the exhausted expressions she wears I would guess she had no idea how deep this sh** was.
I hate paying for all these peoples “F” up’s
These people are more criminal than half of the people in Orange county jail…….that is so sad.
Because I wanted to comment on his back taxes… and I assumed he would say it was none of my business.. But he brought it up! and I don’t really care but I wondered.
This Carona’s more crooked than Boss Hogg and Sheriff Lobo combined!
What is the year, make,model,size etc of the boat that Carona
received..Was it worth $5000.00..??
I’m with Jay. A $5000.00 Sea Rey probably would not run, and the kind of $$$$$$$$ these guys are fooling around with would not be caught dead on a boat of that nature or value. Smells fishy.
Rick,
You are a fool if you think he is lying about the story Corona and him were devising on the tape . Wake up, Corona is a greedy SOB, not that Haidle is not. They are all in trouble , why lie…… He does not have a vendetta against Don, obviously it lies with Jaramillo. WTF UP!!
Sea Rays are one of the worst boats on the water. Corona got exactly what he deserved on this one.
let me get this straight…from what we know Corona was f’n this girl and that girl(which none were his wife). Then his buddy George is f’n the same girl and another girl(which none were his wife). BUT, nobody is f’n Haidl or Corona’s wife? That’s not fair…that’s just not fair!
Well gg…if you have ever seen either Haidl or Carona’s wives you would clearly see why no one was f’n them!!!