Mike Carona, "America's Sheriff," headed for Littleton federal prison

FCI Englewood

Disgraced ex-lawman Michael Carona, a former hot property in California Republican circles and once dubbed "America's Sheriff" by an admiring Larry King, has lost his appeal on corruption charges and may soon be one of the more celebrated inmates at Federal Correctional Institution Englewood.

As explained in this account from one of our sister papers, the OC Weekly , Carona's attorneys failed to persuade the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn his 2009 conviction for urging potential witnesses to lie in a federal grand jury probe of corruption in the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A charismatic figure who was once seriously considered as Arnold Schwarzenegger's running mate in the California gubernatorial campaign, Carona has been sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for witness tampering. His promising career as a take-charge crimebuster broke up amid a swirl of investigations involving allegations of fraudulent campaign contributions, bribery, tax evasion and other offenses.

But Carona can still look on the bright side. Actually located in Littleton, FCI Englewood was named by MSN as among "The Best Places to Go to Prison" because of its recreational opportunities, including foosball and pool.

More from our News archives: "'Labia lift' strip searches: ACLU action gooses prison officials into changing degrading policy."