San Mateo County executive Mike Callagy testifies

The county executive was questioned by an added attorney on Corpus’ legal team — James Lassart, and the subject matter echoed concerns raised by Corpus in September 2024. 

Last fall, Corpus announced in a press conference that she had called for an independent investigation into Callagy over allegations of misconduct and interfering with her authority as sheriff. This sparked after Callagy tried to decline Corpus’ effort to fire former Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan. 

On the stand Wednesday, Callagy testified that he did so as a “legal strategy.” 

Callagy testified on the stand that it was only after hearing the news Monaghan had been fired and consulting with County Attorney John Nibbelin that he learned as county executive he had the authority to reject a termination.

The sheriff attempted to fire Monaghan shortly after she became aware that Monaghan participated in an investigation into the Sheriff’s Office executive team — however, she testified she fired Monaghan because she couldn’t trust him, but not because of the investigation. 

The timing of Monaghan’s termination raised concerns of retaliation and Callagy rejected it to “mitigate damages” on any potential lawsuit that may come from such a termination. 

“We believed that he was removed in violation of the law and that the county taxpayers would suffer a lawsuit,” Callagy said. 

Monaghan was kept on county payroll. He was under the Sheriff’s Office work for a short period of time before being transferred under the county’s Human Resources department. In June 2024, Monaghan took a position through the county, but operating out of the Redwood City Police Department, as director of Interjurisdictional Operations, focusing on human trafficking. 

As an elected officer, Corpus has authority and jurisdiction over the Sheriff’s Office, but as an office under San Mateo County, the budget she works with is at the behest of county staff and the Board of Supervisors. Callagy and the County Executive Office is in charge of producing the proposed county budget. 

Responding to objections as to the budget’s relevance, Lassart said that the county was responsible for reducing the Sheriff’s Office budget, and then subsequently questioned Corpus’ ability to operate the office. Lassart said the tightened budget was “one of the factors creating the problem.” 

Callagy also spoke of how he was made aware of a trip to Hawaii by Corpus, then sheriff-elect, and Victor Aenlle, who Callagy approved a contract for to work on Corpus’ transition team. 

“I don’t even recall how many people told me,” Callagy said. “It was pretty widespread.” 

After being made aware of Corpus’ close relationship with Aenlle — which Callagy said at the time he didn’t believe was romantic, but felt the perception of conflict of interest would be a disadvantage of the sheriff-elect — Callagy terminated Aenlle contract. 

“For a sheriff-elect, I felt this was a good thing,” Callagy said. “She wouldn’t have to deal with the issues, the rumors.” 

Aenlle’s contract was terminated Oct. 24, 2022, but Corpus repeatedly made efforts to create positions of power for him and request pay increases, since. Once Corpus was sworn in as sheriff, she worked to establish a new civil role on her executive team for Aenlle. 

Concerns of Aenlle’s role and conduct within the Sheriff’s Office piled up over the year. Numerous accounts regarding Aenlle’s alleged inappropriate behavior were reported to the county, which led the County Attorney’s Office to commission retired Judge LaDoris Cordell to “investigate fully,” Callagy said. 

The investigation was intended to focus on Aenlle, but evolved to include multiple concerns and allegations of misconduct at the hands of Corpus as well, Callagy said. The investigative report was released to the public Nov. 12, 2024, and the next day, the county zeroed out the budget for Aenlle’s role, effectively firing him from working in the Sheriff’s Office as a full-time employee. 

In court on Wednesday, Corpus’ attorneys outsourced one of their witnesses and called Peter Walsh, retired deputy chief of the San Francisco Police Department, to the stand. 

Walsh was testifying as an expert on internal affairs and “21st century policing,” which Corpus’ team argues is the ethos of how she leads the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, and that the change that comes with this philosophy draws pushback from personnel stuck in their old ways. 

‘When you have people against change, against reform, against the evolution of policing … it could completely stop what needs to progress,” Walsh said. 

During cross-examination of Walsh, the expert witness was asked if he took the stand because he was helping out Corpus’ attorneys — Thomas Mazzucco and Wilson Leung — because they worked on the police commission at the same time and knew one another. He said yes. He was also asked if he was paid to testify, and he said no, but that “the discussion had come up.” 

The county’s attorney Jan Little also asked about Walsh’s expertise on internal investigations, and specifically asked if it was appropriate to retaliate against an employee for leaking information or doing anything that would be detrimental to an ongoing investigation. 

“One person’s retaliation is another’s strategic move to protect the agency,” Walsh said. 

Multiple lines of questioning by Corpus’ attorneys throughout the hearing Wednesday were succinctly described by the hearing officer retired Judge James Emerson. 

“It’s not shedding light on the behavior of the sheriff, it’s shedding light on the behavior of the staff,” Emerson said. 

Undersheriff Dan Perea also took the stand Wednesday, and spoke to Corpus’ efforts to promote officer wellness and hire diverse personnel. 

During cross-examination, a county attorney asked Perea if he attempted to coordinate his testimony with Corpus or any other witness he knew would be testifying during the removal hearing. Perea said no. 

A text message exchange between Perea and former Acting Assistant Sheriff Matt Fox — who testified last week — showed that Perea asked Fox to meet three weeks ago before the hearing began. Perea said he would fly to Fox in Tennessee with his attorney to talk, and make sure they had each other’s best interest in mind. Fox didn’t take Perea up on the offer. 

The hearing will continue at 9 am. Thursday.