Ron Galatolo
Opening arguments in the trial against Ron Galatolo, the embattled former San Mateo County Community College District chancellor facing 23 felony counts, will begin on Monday, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang said.
Both the prosecution and Galatolo’s defense attorney, Charles Smith, will have the opportunity to present an overview of their arguments to the jury before evidence is introduced.
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 investigation and accusations of wrongdoing against Galatolo began in 2019, when former Vice Chancellor Eugene Whitlock filed a whistleblower complaint alleging a laundry list of misconduct by Galatolo.
The filing of over 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.
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 $388 million in funding for college district capital projects between 2018 and 2020.
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