Advisory commission won’t refer alleged misconduct to feds

“The sheriff will have already paid a very high price for her misconduct,” one individual who spoke at public comment and identified himself as Marshall said. “If and when the Board of Supervisors votes to remove her, we do not need another ounce of flesh to punish her, especially under the current circumstances.” 

The scandal surrounding Corpus — who is alleged to have used slurs and derogatory language, preserved an inappropriately close relationship with her Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle and retaliated against former members of her staff who spoke out against her, among other claims — has plagued the county for months. 

That has resulted in a countywide vote granting the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors the power to remove her, multiple investigations from former judges, and a formal accusation from the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury. 

The ICAC does not have the power to refer documentation generated from those investigations independently. Commissioners could have only made a recommendation that the Board of Supervisors do so. 

The Board of Supervisors previously directed County Executive Mike Callagy to send the Cordell Report — an independent 400-page investigation into allegations of retaliation, racism and abuse of authority within the Sheriff’s Office — to California’s attorney general. They haven’t taken such action at a federal level yet. 

Commissioner Rob Silano, who broached the motion at the commission’s meeting July 22, was the only member to vote yes. If the motion had passed, the ICAC would have recommended that federal agencies, including the U.S. attorney general, Northern California District of California and the FBI, receive documentation of the sheriff’s alleged misconduct.  

“What I’d like to move here is we, as a commission, forward pretty much the whole investigation that already transpired — between the grand jury recommendation, all the investigations involving our county executive and other employees that were identified as having issues with the sheriff,” Silano said. 

The county is currently working through the process to remove Corpus from office. Formal proceedings, the first ever in California’s history against an elected sheriff, will be held in an under-oath evidentiary are set to be held from Aug. 18 to Aug. 29.

A parallel process is currently playing out through the civil grand jury, which formally accused Corpus June 27. The accusation included conclusions made following a monthslong hearing where 32 witnesses, including Corpus, testified under oath. This is the first time such a record of evidence regarding the sheriff has been provided by any involved party under penalty of perjury.