Jan 31, 2008 8:14 am US/Pacific
Charge Dropped In Corruption Case Against Carona
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CBS) ―
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One of the mail fraud charges in the corruption case against former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, his wife and former mistress has reportedly been dropped.
AP
Federal prosecutors have dropped one of the mail fraud charges in the corruption case against former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, his wife and alleged former mistress, it was reported Thursday.
The U.S. attorney's office obtained a superseding indictment no longer alleging that Carona's wife, Deborah, failed to disclose the gift of a $15,000 Cartier watch on a conflict-of-interest form she filed as a member of the board overseeing the Orange County Fairgrounds, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Carona, his wife and alleged mistress, Debra V. Hoffman, are still accused of conspiring to sell the power of Carona's office for tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts.
Prosecutors made the decision to exclude the allegation regarding the watch disclosure after defense attorneys informed them that it was not required because the gift came from someone who didn't do business with the fair board, The Times reported.
Last week, they said they intended to file a motion to have the charge dismissed, but prosecutors decided to drop it voluntarily instead, according to The Times.
Deborah Carona's attorney, David W. Wiechert, said in remarks reported by The Times that he believed the new indictment was evidence that prosecutors misled an earlier grand jury about the legality of her fair board financial reports.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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