Opening arguments against former San Mateo County Community College District chancellor are set to begin in October

The filing of more than 20 felony counts occurred years later, in 2022, accusing Galatolo 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.

Galatolo, for his part, has maintained his innocence throughout the process. His defense attorney, Charles Smith, was not immediately available for comment.

Charges that the DA’s Office filed include two counts of unauthorized use of public funds for directing the awarding of two projects at Cañada College to two firms with whom he had an improper relationship, as well as nine counts of perjury for failing to disclose gifts from principals at the firms.

As the case against Galatolo dragged on and preliminary hearing — a key step to prove probable cause before a criminal case goes to trial — was continually rescheduled, the DA’s Office moved forward with a Criminal Grand Jury indictment in October 2024, Wagstaffe said.

Smith previously disavowed the DA’s Office claim that Galatolo’s legal team had been to blame for the delays, and said they were due to litigating issues with a witness on the DA’s end.

Jose Nuñez — the former vice chancellor of facilities for the San Mateo County Community College District — testified during the grand jury hearing, Wagstaffe said. Nuñez previously pleaded no contest to two felony counts of using the community college district’s resources for political purposes, including the election campaign of district board candidate Tom Mohr and a bond measure providing $2 billion in funding for college district capital projects between 2018 and 2020.

Now, however, the case is moving forward, with the presiding judge hearing motions from either side about what evidence will be admissible in court.

The judge ruled in the DA’s favor to admit emails between Galatolo and a former attorney on Sept. 29, and will hear a motion on whether to include testimony from Galatolo’s former spouse Sept. 30.

Jury selection is scheduled for later in the week, opening arguments are scheduled to begin Oct. 20, and the case is expected to conclude by mid-January, with a two-week break during the winter holidays.