SANTA ANA, Calif. — A disgraced former Orange County sheriff convicted of witness tampering receives about $215,000 a year, one of hundreds of former employees to get big payouts as the county's retirement system faces a huge shortfall.

In January of 2009, Carona was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for witness tampering. He was acquitted of charges he took bribes in exchange for the power of his office in a sweeping public corruption case that stretched back to 1998. The conviction involved a secretly recorded conversation in which Carona attempted to persuade a businessman to match his and other defendants' stories in front of the grand jury.

He is free on bail pending an appeal.

The county's retirement system is facing a $3.7 billion unfunded liability.