Contract doubted due to Carona

Orange County Fairgrounds officials seek a state review of a contract their board made this year with a company that allegedly paid Sheriff Michael Carona for help in opening a paintball park in Costa Mesa.

Becky Bailey-Findley, the Fairgrounds’ chief executive, said she had asked the attorney general’s office to examine the rental agreement reached with Hollywood Sports Park, a Bellflower-based company that recently installed the Giant Paintball Park.

The fair board approved the park unanimously in June and opened it Oct. 27, days before allegations surfaced in the media that the park’s owners had paid Carona to land a choice site at the Fairgrounds.

Bailey-Findley said she knew of no wrongdoing by the board, of which Carona’s wife is a member, but had contacted the attorney general’s office as soon as she read the allegations. Deputy Atty. Gen. Deborah Fletcher serves as a legal counsel to the Fairgrounds and will spearhead the review.

Fletcher said she hadn’t heard about the allegations until Friday, but would examine the matter promptly.

“We’ll look into what the facts are, and once we’ve established the facts, we’ll look at the applicable laws and go from there,” she said.

In the meantime, the Giant Paintball Park is expected to conduct business as usual. The park, which opens Thursday through Sunday, is slated to remain at the Fairgrounds through April 13.

“From the perspective of the Orange County Fair, we are going to take whatever actions the attorney general suggests, and as of this moment, they have not suggested that we discontinue operations,” Bailey-Findley said.

In October, a grand jury unsealed an indictment that accuses Carona, his wife and another woman of receiving illegal benefits and using their positions for personal gain. The indictment claims that in spring 2000, Carona met with two businessman who owned a paintball company and that the sheriff promised to help them establish a facility in exchange for approximately $25,000 in cash. It does not, however, identify the businessmen or the name of their company.

Richard Steingard, an attorney representing the paintball park owners, issued a news release Friday stating that his clients had reached a legitimate agreement and that the fair board had done a “thorough and complete background check” before signing the contract. He declined comment otherwise.

Bailey-Findley said the paintball company’s owners, Giovanni D’Egidio and Dennis Bukowski, submitted a formal proposal to the board rather than fill out a regular application, but added that other companies had done so in the past.

“We believe staff researched this very carefully, and there was no hint of any conflict of interest as we went forward,” she said.

The indictment also reports that Carona used his influence as sheriff to get his wife, Deborah Carona, appointed to the Orange County Fair Board of Directors a year later. Bailey-Findley confirmed that Carona is still a board member and sits on two side committees as well.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.