Jul 18, 2008 8:45 am US/Pacific
Sheriff Baca's Top Assistant Under Investigation
LOS ANGELES
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A top assistant to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca (pictured) is under investigation.
AP
Federal investigators are looking into the conduct of one of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca's top assistants as part of their corruption probe of former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, it was reported Friday.
According to an FBI report, Don Haidl, an ex-assistant sheriff under Carona who owned a vehicle auction business, said he gave Los Angeles County Undersheriff Larry Waldie an old but "good-running" Camaro as a gift for Waldie's daughter, The Times reported.
Waldie acknowledged accepting the car in an interview with the newspaper, but said he believed it had little value and that he was not required to report it on state forms in which he must disclose gifts of more than $50.
"It was a junker," Waldie told the newspaper. "It wasn't worth anything."
Haidl told FBI investigators that Waldie, who was an assistant sheriff and an elected Walnut City Council member at the time, tried to pay him, but that he rejected his attempts to give him money, according to the documents cited by The Times.
Under state law in 1999, Waldie was required to report any gift of $50 or more, experts told The Times.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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