Aug. 13--William "Tom" Carey, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department captain, has agreed to plead guilty to lying on the stand in a criminal trial and will receive a reduced sentence if he cooperates with prosecutors, according to a document filed in federal court Thursday.
Carey would be the highest-ranking sheriff's official to be convicted of a charge related to the county's jail scandal and his cooperation could strengthen prosecutors' case against Paul Tanaka, the retired undersheriff.
In May, both Tanaka and Carey were charged with obstructing a federal investigation into excessive force and corruption in the county jails. Carey was also charged with two counts of lying for statements he made in two trials of lower-ranking sheriff's officials.
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Tanaka has pleaded not guilty.
In the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would drop three counts against Carey, leaving the single count of lying at the May 2014 trial of Sheriff's Deputy James Sexton, who was convicted of obstructing the federal investigation. Six other sheriff's officials were also convicted in a separate trial.
Carey's attorney, Andrew Stolper, declined to comment.
Tanaka's attorney, H. Dean Steward, conceded that Carey's decision to strike a deal and cooperate with prosecutors complicates matters for Tanaka.
But with Carey agreeing to plead guilty to perjuring himself on the witness stand during a previous obstruction trial, Steward said he doesn't expect the former captain to be called to testify against Tanaka.
"Once you've admitted to lying on the stand, who can believe anything you say?" Steward said.
While Tanaka does not disagree with "90%" of Carey's recollections on how Brown was handled during the FBI investigation, Steward said Carey's claims that Tanaka was present at certain meetings and gave orders to others regarding what to do with Brown were wrong.
Steward said he believes that prosecutors flipped Carey in order to build a case against former Sheriff Lee Baca.
"They're trying to go up the ladder, and Carey and Mr. Tanaka are just rungs on that ladder," Steward said. "It sure looks to me like they're going after Baca."
Steward said he had not discussed with prosecutors the possibility of a plea deal for Tanaka and would not accept one if it was offered.
"Our client has done nothing wrong," he said.
Baca has not been charged.
Some sheriff's officials testified during last year's trials that Baca was at some of the meetings where the decision was made to move an inmate informant around the jails and to approach an FBI agent at her home. Those two actions have been at the heart of the obstruction charges against other sheriff's officials.
Reached by phone, Baca declined to comment. He said he does not have an attorney.
ALSO:
After years of scandal, L.A. jails get federal oversight, sweeping reforms
Once L.A. County Sheriff's Department star, Paul Tanaka now defined by scandal
UPDATE
4:01 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from Tanaka's attorney, H. Dean Steward.
This post was originally published at 3:12 p.m.
