Michael S. Carona (born May 23, 1955) is an American convicted felon and former law enforcement officer, who served as the sheriff-coroner of Orange County, California from 1999 until his resignation in 2008.

After the quick capture of her murderer, Alejandro Avila, late night television host Larry King dubbed him "America's Sheriff" during an interview.

In late 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Carona, his wife, and his alleged longtime mistress on corruption charges.

In 1992, he received another Master of Arts degree in management, this time from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Carona identifies with his Sicilian heritage, having explicitly noted it in his biography on the Orange County Sheriff's Department website.

In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Michael Carona to the federal Emergency Response Senior Advisory Committee on Homeland Security.

On November 15, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security asked for, and received, Carona's resignation from the task force, citing distractions due to the federal charges he was facing.

[7] On October 30, 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that Carona had been indicted on federal corruption charges, alleging that he used his office for personal financial gain and urged a former associate, former Assistant Sheriff Donald Haidl, to testify falsely before a grand jury.

Federal prosecutors also charged him with instructing an employee in 2005 to lie to investigators about a sexual relationship she had with him as further evidence of tampering with witnesses.

A four-part Full Disclosure Network Emmy-nominated TV series featured an exclusive interview with Sheriff Carona immediately following his arraignment and focused on prosecutor tactics and federal sentencing procedures.