The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office case against Ron Galatolo, the embattled former San Mateo County Community College District chancellor facing 27 felony counts, may conclude by the end of the year, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Once the DA’s Office rests its case, defense attorney Charles Smith — who did not immediately respond to request for comment — will present the case in Galatolo’s defense to the jury. That could potentially include Galatolo’s own testimony in his defense.
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.
The case will be heard Nov. 24 to Nov. 26 before pausing two days for Thanksgiving. During that time, the jury will likely hear from former Vice Chancellor Jose Nuñez, who previously pleaded no contest to two felony counts of using the community college district’s resources for political purposes and committed to testifying against Galatolo in exchange for probation. The DA’s Office is alleging Nuñez, at Galatolo’s direction, helped pressure the district’s contract selection committee to select contractors with whom he had a personal relationship.
After the Thanksgiving break, the case will continue until Dec. 10, at which point it will pause again for the holiday break. If necessary, it will resume in the new year.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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