Carona Campaign Admits Getting Illegal Donations

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s campaign committee acknowledged Thursday that at least 10 donors improperly received cash or stock from a supporter of the sheriff in exchange for their contributions.

Carona campaign spokesman Michael J. Schroeder said that the committee had asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate the illegal contributions. A lawyer for Carona requested the investigation Thursday in a three-page letter hand-carried to the commission.

Sacramento attorney Charles H. Bell included copies of two checks written for $1,000 each by investors to Friends of Mike Carona. The original entries on the memo line appear to have been crossed out. The new entries are in different handwriting and read “birthday bash OC Sheriff May 18th.”

Schroeder said the original memo line entries said the checks were made out for CHG stock. Schroeder said the campaign committee wants the FPPC to find out who altered the checks.

The improper contributions involved CHG Safety Technologies and its owner, Charles H. Gabbard. In 2000 Gabbard was trying to market a laser device that would allow police to safely disable a moving vehicle by shutting off its electrical system. This year, it was revealed that Gabbard steered money from at least nine investors, and perhaps dozens more, into Carona’s 2002 campaign fund.

Bell included signed affidavits from 10 donors confirming that they received cash or stock from CHG in return for their political contributions to Carona. Bell blamed Lisa Jaramillo, Carona’s chief fundraiser at the time, for the illegal contributions.

Lisa Jaramillo is the wife of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo, who had been hired by Gabbard to market the laser device. George Jaramillo, once Carona’s top assistant, was fired in March; Carona has never publicly explained his decision to fire him. George Jaramillo was also blamed for the illegal fundraising by Gabbard’s attorney, John Gladych.

On Thursday, Gladych repeated charges that Lisa and George Jaramillo and lobbyist Bob Levy had instructed Gabbard to divert the illegal donations to Carona to gain political support for CHG’s laser device.

George Jaramillo angrily denied that he had anything to do with the illegal contributions and defended his wife. He said that it was Carona who introduced her to Gabbard and instructed her to work with him in raising campaign money.

“Lisa’s had no contact with the contributors, just Gabbard,” he said. “She never instructed anybody what to do. Once the checks were collected she turned them over to the [campaign] treasurer.... Lisa was not privy to anything Gabbard did to collect the checks. His own attorney admitted that Gabbard misled people.”

Levy could not be reached for comment, but he has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Separate investigations of the illegal contributions are being conducted by the FBI and the county grand jury. Schroeder said the campaign requested the FPPC investigation after an internal investigation revealed that Carona and other campaign officials -- except Lisa Jaramillo -- were not aware of the illegal contributions.

Gladych also said Carona was not aware of the improper contributions, but questioned whether Lisa Jaramillo was the only campaign official aware of them.

“This wasn’t Carona’s or Gabbard’s idea.... But how can they say the campaign had no knowledge of what was going on when Lisa was part of that campaign?” he said. “How can they say nobody else in the campaign knew what was going on?”

None of the contributor affidavits supplied by the campaign to the FPPC name either of the Jaramillos as playing a role in the illegal contributions.

Clarissa M. McGrady of Anaheim wrote that she contributed $500 to Carona and was reimbursed $400 by Gabbard. Sharon Headley of North Kingsville, Ohio, wrote that she invested $1,000 for 1,000 shares of CHG stock but that her check “was given without my knowledge or consent to Friends of Mike Carona.”

John Plassman of Southgate, Mich., also bought 1,000 shares of CHG stock for $1,000. He said Gabbard directed him to write the check to Friends of Mike Carona because it was “the best way to protect your investment ... and safeguard your return.”

Other investors said merely that they had received stock in CHG in return for contributing to Carona’s campaign. But some contributors contacted by Carona’s campaign said they did not receive stock or reimbursements from Gabbard for their contributions.

Gladych conceded in earlier interviews that Gabbard had made the illegal contributions, willingly offering investors 1,000 shares of stock if they contributed $1,000 to Carona’s campaign. Gladych said Gabbard engaged in the scheme without knowing it was illegal.

The Jaramillos were also paid $25,000 by Gabbard in 2000. George Jaramillo was paid $15,000 for consulting services, but it is not clear why Lisa Jaramillo received $10,000.

In an April letter to Bell, Gladych asked for Carona’s assistance in “gaining the return of the $10,000.”

Gladych said that Lisa Jaramillo “performed absolutely zero services for CHG” and that Gabbard was “forced” to pay her by George Jaramillo.

George Jaramillo refused Thursday to say if Lisa Jaramillo was paid $10,000 by Gabbard. But he again denied any wrongdoing by himself or his wife.

“We are law-abiding, honest people caught up in the swirl caused by Gabbard,” he said.