San Mateo County sheriff under fire

The Board of Supervisors retained Cordell in July 2024 following an “unprecedented” amount of complaints, and supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller highlighted the public release of the report Tuesday, Nov. 12. The board will consider calling for Corpus’ immediate resignation Wednesday, Nov. 13.

“It is my belief this report lays out the case clearly,” Mueller said. “Sheriff Corpus’ tenure must come to an end, whether by resignation or removal.”

Ongoing rumors that Corpus and Aenlle have a personal relationship beyond friendship — a violation of the county’s nepotism policy — were substantiated with “overwhelming factual evidence,” Cordell found.

The pair’s relationship has led Corpus “to relinquish control of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office” to Aenlle “who has far more experience as a Coldwell Banker associate real estate broker than he has in law enforcement,” the report reads.

Corpus still denies the inappropriate relationship.

“I have a personal relationship with Mr. Aenlle and with other members of my staff,” Corpus said. “Victor Aenlle and I are friends, I trust him as I trust all of those people that are standing there.”

The report documents various findings that suggest Aenlle’s “widespread abuse of authority” that has damaged morale and placed the entire organization’s effectiveness into question.

“At best, his words are suspect; at worst, they are simply not believable,” the report reads.

Aenlle has repeatedly exceeded and abused his authority with the knowledge and approval of Sheriff Corpus.”

Aenlle has referred to himself as chief of staff, but the official job title he was hired under is executive director. His position was created by Corpus as an unilateral alternative to an assistant sheriff, and his role has remained in question considering his former tenure as a reserve deputy.

“It appears that Aenlle has used his full-time, salaried position as executive director to fulfill his obligation to perform reserve deputy work hours,” the report read. “In other words, Aenlle is double-dipping.”

Aenlle is likely in violation of impersonating a full-time, salaried sworn employee with full police powers due to his gold badge that could easily deceive a civilian into believing Aenlle has such authority, the investigation found. Moreover, if Corpus issued this badge, she would also be in violation of a misdemeanor.

Concerns over his access to rifles with silencers were also raised to Cordell. Since Aenlle is not a full-time peace officer, he is prohibited from possessing a suppression rifle. However, he does have the code to the safe where the guns are stored and was invested in the acquisition of rifles for the executive team, the report read.

Doubling down

Corpus held a press conference shortly after the report was made public, calling the allegations outlined in the report as “glaring lies.”

“I respect the people of this county too much to just walk away when there is a righteous fight underway, a fight against the good ol’ boy system in this county that is corrupt,” Corpus said. “Now they are spreading vicious lies to try to destroy my good name.”

The Corpus/Aenlle administration is obsessed with loyalty that borders on paranoia,” the report read.

When asked if she felt Cordell conspired with the county to frame the report, after Corpus said it was filled with lies, Corpus said “it is definitely a biased report.”

“Other members of the organization reached out to Judge Cordell and they were turned away,” Corpus said. “Imagine if we turned people away that wanted to file a report. It’s not OK.”

Corpus has repeatedly stated her tenure as sheriff has largely been spent looking to dismantle the “good ol’ boy” culture that she said “had been integrated in this office and also exists in this county government.”

Mueller said the definition of “good ol’ boy” culture is one that demands unconditional loyalty, which he said was exemplified by the resignation of Capt. Brian Philips after refusing to act on an order to arrest a deputy sheriff Tuesday.

Union president arrested

The morning the report was presented, Carlos Tapia, the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, was arrested for felony grand theft by false pretenses. Tapia has been a key figure in the effort to expose the Corpus administration’s flaws, and for leading the charge in a labor dispute alleging unilateral decision making relating to overtime and staffing without union conference.

The union, along with the San Mateo County Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants, condemned the arrest, saying it has “all the earmarks of whistleblower retaliation.”

The Sheriff’s Office completed an investigation into Tapia and told San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Chin-Mee Chang on Tuesday that the report of that investigation would be sent to the District Attorney’s Office by Tuesday night or Wednesday, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The Sheriff’s Office proceeded with a probable cause arrest of Tapia, rather than obtaining a warrant. When the District Attorney’s Office receives the investigation report, it will determine whether charges will be brought against Tapia, Wagstaffe said.

Corzo and Mueller said the timing of the arrest was concerning, and that “it looks like a sideshow to divert attention” from the reports findings being made public.

“We find the timing and circumstances of this arrest to be highly troubling, especially considering the other findings of Judge Cordell’s investigation,” Corzo said.

Corpus held a press conference 30 minutes prior to the supervisors’ own where she addressed the arrest.

“When there is substantiated evidence that shows that there was a crime that’s been committed, it’s not about timing it’s about doing what’s right,” Corpus said.

Corpus said it is the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office to uphold itself to the same standard as others.

“I will not turn a blind eye when credible evidence supports that a crime has been committed, whether it be a member of the public or a trusted member of the office,” Corpus said.

Further findings

Aenlle was also found to have a conflict of interest when negotiating the lease for a property on Broadway Street in Redwood City — which is not within the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction — because of his close ties to Coldwell Banker Real Estate that brokered the lease. The property was secured to house a Sheriff’s Office Substation, replacing one in unincorporated North Fair Oaks, and a proposed child care center.

The report shared evidence that Corpus has uttered and texted racial and homophobic slurs around her staff, including the n-word and a slur directed toward lesbians.

Corpus said the evidence included in the report — which included screenshot text messages — were fabricated.

“No one will call me a racist or a homophobe,” Corpus said. “I am disgusted at how low these people will go.”

Corpus has said she takes particular offense to this as a woman of color.

Elected the same year as Corpus, Corzo supported Corpus’ bid to become sheriff and “would not change my opinion about that support lightly” as a fellow Latina.

“There are no passes for corruption, from anyone,” Corzo said. “We want ethical leaders in this county, and what this report has found, is that there are grave concerns in the Sheriff’s Office and be it from a woman of color or anyone else, there has to be accountability there.”

Next steps

From her findings, Cordell recommended Corpus step down and that Aenlle’s employment be terminated immediately.

“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration,” the report reads. “Nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil, and its personnel demoralized.”

The Board of Supervisors will convene a special meeting 4 p.m. Wednesday to discuss potential action.

“The sheriff and her chief of staff’s reprehensible conduct demands full transparency and immediate action,” Mueller said. “The Board of Supervisors is committed to addressing these issues to the fullest extent permitted by California law.”

The board currently does not have independent authority to remove the sheriff, but Mueller said it can consider bringing a charter amendment in an election to ask voters for the authority to do so.

The full report can be found with the agenda for the Nov. 13 meeting, and it will be referred to the county’s civil grand jury and District Attorney’s office for consideration.

The county also hired an outside investigator for allegations made by Corpus that County Executive Officer Mike Callagy interfered with labor negotiations.

“It is my belief this report lays out the case clearly. Sheriff Corpus’ tenure must come to an end, whether by resignation or removal,” Mueller said. “To the community, we are committed to ensuring that the [Sheriff’s Office] conducts itself in a manner worthy of your trust.”