Mixed verdicts for Galatolo

The decided guilty charges were related to perjury with the DMV, including two allegations of evading registration fees when purchasing expensive cars, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said, as well as two counts of perjury on forms to disclose gifts. 

He was found not guilty of perjury relating to the form to disclose gifts for 2014, Wagstaffe said. 

The tax-evasion charges Galatolo was found guilty of related to a Maui rental property and a $10,000 donation the district made to fire relief efforts in Santa Rosa, which Galatolo wrote off as a private donation, prosecutors said. 

Galatolo was on trial for 27 felony counts of tax evasion, perjury, conflicts of interest, misuse of public funds and embezzlement. 

The trial began Oct. 29, and each side has argued their own distinctive version of Galatolo and the rationale for his decision-making. The jury was charged with deciding if the friendships and connections Galatolo maintained are genuine or strategically influenced for his personal gain. 

Galatolo is accused of directing district construction project contracts to people from whom he received valuable gifts and shared financial interests, allegedly misreporting tax information and allegedly trying to get the district to pay for his lawyer’s fees, according to the DA’s office. He maintains he has done nothing wrong.

The two specific building contracts in question, around which much of the trial will revolve, were for Cañada College’s solar panel project and Building 23, respectively, both of which are now finished.

Galatolo was represented by Chuck Smith, who has refuted all charges against him, assuring that the defendant was only ever acting in the best interest of the San Mateo County Community College District and its students. Smith said he was hopeful the guilty charges will be made misdemeanors upon the time of sentencing. 

“You’re never happy to have a client convicted of anything, sure, but the personal tax and DMV things are not that significant,” he said. “Arguably, the judge can make them misdemeanors at the time of sentencing. I think there’s, all told, less than $10,000 of unpaid fees or taxes, and none of it is related to his position as a chancellor.” 

Wagstaffe said the DA’s Office will continue to wait for a final verdict on the remaining charges. After a verdict was read on the nine charges, the jury had further questions. Those questions will be answered at 8 a.m. Wednesday, at which point they will resume deliberations. 

“This happens when you have long, complicated cases with numerous counts,” Wagstaffe said. “Sometimes the deadlock remains, sometimes they achieve verdicts. It really varies. Until the jury is done, we will wait and see.”