Investigator clears county executive

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously — and without discussion — to release the confidential findings of the report to the public, May 22.

“The thing that’s critically, critically important, is releasing it to the public, to be transparent and open,” board President David Canepa said after the vote. 

The investigation focused on allegations against Callagy, including that he asked Corpus about her romantic relationships, overstepped his authority regarding union discussions and treated her differently because of her Latina identity. None were sustained. 

“While I am not surprised by the outcome of another investigation commissioned by the same parties trying to remove me from office, I stand by my allegations and concerns regarding Mr. Callagy interfering with my authority to run the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office as the elected Sheriff and I look forward to aggressively pursuing the same in the appropriate arena,” Corpus wrote in a statement. 

Last fall, Corpus pointed the finger at Callagy as tensions were rising amid a separate investigation underway looking into the sheriff’s executive team. Corpus initially sent a letter Sept. 22, outlining the allegations against Callagy to then-Board of Supervisors President Warren Slocum. 

The investigation into the Sheriff’s Office at the time, conducted by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, resulted in a 400-page investigative report released Nov. 12 outlining evidence of abuse of power, retaliation and misconduct at the hands of Corpus and her former chief-of-staff Victor Aenlle. 

The Cordell report has underlined the ongoing effort to remove Corpus from her elected position, which has resulted in a slew of claims filed against the county and last-ditch efforts by the sheriff to maintain her position as the county’s top law enforcement officer. 

The recently released investigation into Callagy addressed the initial complaint made by Corpus on Sept. 22, as well as a government complaint filed with the County Dec. 19, and a complaint filed with California’s Civil Rights Department on Feb. 11. 

In the complaint, Corpus cited the “most egregious” instance of harassment was when Callagy allegedly asked Corpus to inform him of when and who she dated within the county, Corpus said. Callagy denied demanding this information, but did admit he asked specifically about Corpus’ relationship with Aenlle, after hearing concerning rumors. These rumors were substantiated with “overwhelming factual evidence” in the Cordell report. 

Ultimately, no merit was given to Corpus’ multiple allegations in large part due to the limited information she provided to support her claims, the investigator said. The investigator repeatedly stated Corpus’ responses were broad and general. Corpus also did not engage in a proper interview, after multiple requests to schedule one were made, and gave written responses to questions submitted by the investigator, instead. 

“Without a live interview, there is no opportunity to hear the individual’s story directly, request clarifications, probe motives, or ask follow-up questions,” the investigator wrote. “This made it difficult to assess Corpus’ credibility.”

Corpus said in a statement to the Daily Journal she did not participate in an interview because she was “not allowed to record my interview when I was prepared to provide them with answers to their questions,” but according to the investigative report interviews were conducted virtually and were audio recorded.  

In regards to the allegation that Corpus is the victim of discrimination based on her Latina identity, the investigator found no evidence. In fact, witness testimonies demonstrate Callagy went to extraneous lengths to support Corpus in her role as sheriff. 

“As with many of her other allegations, Corpus made this assertion against Callagy based on broad, sweeping statements without providing a factual basis for the assertion,” the investigator wrote. 

Corpus also alleged Callagy blocked the termination of Sheriff’s Office personnel, which is usually at the discretion of the sheriff. This was in fact substantiated — because Callagy didn’t deny doing so — but the investigator found that Callagy’s actions were done with the county’s best intention in mind, and determined this action was not improper. 

On Sept. 20, former Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan was fired from the Sheriff’s Office, two days after he told Corpus he participated in an investigation that was looking into her executive team. Speculation quickly rose over concerns of retaliation, and Callagy took action to block the termination. 

While Corpus claims Callagy stopped the firing of Monaghan to “exert control over her office,” Callagy denies this presumption. 

Callagy blocked the termination of Monaghan to protect the county, and taxpayers, from “inevitable claims airing from what could be easily found as retaliation,” Callagy’s attorney Jim Hartnett said in a statement. 

The scandal surrounding the Sheriff’s Office has already resulted in multiple claims filed — including one for $10 million by Callagy, himself — that will ultimately cost the county lots of money. The County of San Mateo is responsible for the cost of the investigation into Callagy, Canepa said. 

The “false statements and conduct” of Corpus has caused not only harm to Callagy, but to the community as well, Hartnett said in a statement. 

“The conduct of Sheriff Corpus has generated a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars, and an extraordinary allocation of public resources that would be better spent on the public good and mission of the county,” Hartnett said.

County staff is currently working on the formal notice of intent for removal that will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at a coming date, which will begin a lengthy process to remove Corpus, that will likely include an under-oath evidentiary hearing. 

“While Sheriff Corpus has been able to avoid being interviewed, there will come a day on which she will have to testify under oath and personally bear the consequences of her statements and conduct,” Hartnett wrote. 

The investigative report into Callagy is available at https://www.smcgov.org/ceo/news/independent-investigation-clears-county-executive-all-allegations-board-supervisors for those interested in reading more. 

ana@smdailyjournal.com

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