Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona appointed 86 political allies, campaign contributors, friends and relatives to the sheriff’s reserve program soon after he was elected in January 1999, a supervisor who once ran the program said in a deposition released Wednesday.

Ah, the sheriff! Yes, the one who sexually harasses his female staff members! Yes, the one who loves to hang out with THE LAS VEGAS MAFIA! Yes, the one who breached the county’s top-secret anti-terrorism plans to a con-artist! Well, it looks like Mike Carona has found himself in new trouble… And this time, it’s The OC Register that’s actually reporting it!

Go ahead and follow me after the flip for the latest on our favorite perverted politician… Oops, didn’t I mean “law enforcement officer”? You know you want to… ; )

So how has this latest scandal surfaced? Well, you can thank one trigger-happy reserve officer for this!

Lt. Jeff Bardzik’s deposition was taken earlier this month as part of a $4 million lawsuit brought by two golfers who allege the sheriff’s one-time friend and former reserve deputy, Raymond Yi, flashed a reserve badge and threatened them with a department-issued gun. Bardzik testified that he recommended the sheriff’s department take away Yi’s gun and badge. Yi, whose reserve status was suspended, also faces a criminal trial June 11 for his actions.

The sheriff himself is scheduled to give a deposition in the golfers’ lawsuit. But in a motion filed May 1, Carona asked a judge to seal the testimony to stop it from being given to the media. […]

On Wednesday, Bardzik declined to comment on his deposition because of his own ongoing lawsuit against Carona, which also contains the same criticisms of the sheriff’s reserve division. The 22-year veteran also alleges he was demoted because he did not support the sheriff during the 2006 election.

Ah, isn’t Mikey Carona precious? Hasn’t he named some fantastic reserve officers? Don’t you trust these individuals with YOUR safety? Well, if Carona had continued to have his way, you probably wouldn’t be able to trust them.

An April 2001 audit by Peace Officers Standards and Training, uncovered the appointments, and most of the volunteers were decertified due to their lack of training and not passing background checks.

About 5,000 reserve officers volunteer statewide. Their duties range from crowd control to helping transport prisoners to patrolling neighborhoods. They are allowed to carry guns on duty. In Orange County, there are 240 reserve deputies, said sheriff’s Capt. Dave Wilson.

But I guess these aren’t the duties that Mikey Carona cares about! No, he has far more important things on his mind. Like patronage. Like rewarding loyalty. Like hot chicks. Like getting a little help from a few good fellas in Vegas. Yes, Sheriff Carona knows what really matters here.

And this is someone that Arnold has named as a “homeland security adviser”? This is someone that Bush considers to be a “homeland security adviser”? Cheese, louise! I guess we still can’t really consider ourselves safe.

And this is Mike Carona, “America’s Sheriff“?

This just in from The Liberal OC… Chris Prevatt has had it with all the scandals, all the corruption, and all the sleaze that’s taken hold of just about every level of local government in Orange County:

In the case of Orange County, it is interesting how many instances of corruption or ethical lapses are prevalent in our government institutions. Whether it is Sheriff Mike Corona [link] and his “Coronies,” the Capistrano Unified [link] and Santa Ana Unified School District administrators, or senior managers in the Orange County Health Care Agency, it seems we cannot avoid the scandals and incompetence of these overly paid buffoons.

I received word the other day that the Health Care Agency was partially successful in their appeal of the $143,000 penalty they were issued for failing to properly manage a federal HIV/AIDS grant sub-contractor. The Orange County Register covered the story in a detailed investigative report “Misplaced Faith” released in March 2006.

It never ceases to amaze me how the powers that be here in OC are so willing to waste all of our taxpayer dollars on these dirty crooks… So what can be done about all of this? Follow me after the flip for more…

So what can be done about all of this? Chris offers some advice for the County on the Health Care Agency’s AIDS Scandal, of which he (unfortunately) has seen and experienced firsthand:

The Board of Supervisors needs to pay attention to the underlying problem that has been revealed. Specifically, County managers were willing to commit fraud, lie to federal grant managers, cover-up misconduct, and permit retaliation against the employee who spoke out about management misconduct in order to conceal the truth. More than eleven years after the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, the culture of Here no evil; See no evil; and Speak no evil, is alive and well in the halls of Orange County administration.

And what about Sheriff Carona and his never-ending slew of scandals? Why doesn’t this man have enough decency to resign? Why can’t the Board of Supervisors stand up and hold him accountable for once? Why aren’t more people outraged about this?

And what about the recent school district scandals? Why couldn’t the Capistrano Unified School District put the students, parents, teachers, and other faculty ahead of their own desire to waste taxpayer money on themselves? Why has Santa Ana Unified been allowed to get away with complete fraud for so long? Why have they been able to overcrowd our kids’ classrooms, and then claim to the state that they’re complying with state class size requirements? Why haven’t these folks been held accountable?

And why won’t the District Attorney do something about all of this? Oh wait, I almost forgot… He’s a part of it, too. Dammit, where are the ethics in the halls of government in this county? Does anyone have some?