A San Mateo County civil grand jury has formally accused embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus of corruption and misconduct, starting a rare legal process that could lead to her removal from office, District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe announced Monday.
The accusation includes one count of conflict of interest and three counts of retaliation. It comes as Corpus faces a separate, ongoing effort by the Board of Supervisors to remove her under a new authority voters approved in March — a power that applies only through the end of her current term in 2028.
“The conflict of interest allegation pertains to the hiring and supervision of former Executive Director of Administration, Victor Aenlle, with whom she had a close personal relationship,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. “The three counts of retaliation pertain to the termination of Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan; the transfer of Captain Brian Philip; and the arrest of Deputy Carlos Tapia, the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association.”
Corpus’ attorney, Thomas Mazzucco, said the accusations involved “politically motivated complaints by the upper echelons and union leadership” at the Sheriff’s Office.
“These complaints regarding assignments, command staff selections and union issues are not uncommon for large law enforcement agencies,” Mazzucco told this news organization in an email.
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Corpus, elected in 2022 as the county’s first female and first Latina sheriff, is entitled to a jury trial on the grand jury’s accusation. She is scheduled to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on July 15 before Judge Stephanie Garratt.
According to a 2021 interview with William Larsen, a retired prosecutor from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and one of the few statewide experts on the civil grand jury procedure, the trial process closely mirrors a criminal proceeding, including jury selection, witness testimony, and a determination of guilt or innocence. Fewer than 100 public officials have been removed through this method in California over the past 150 years, he said.
In 2022, former Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith resigned after a civil grand jury issued an accusation against her. She was later convicted during trial in connection with a concealed carry permit scandal. That case did not involve a removal action by a county board.
If removed by both the civil grand jury process and the Board of Supervisors, Corpus would be the first sheriff in the Bay Area ousted directly by a county board — and is likely the first in California to be targeted by two separate removal processes.
While supervisors in other counties — including Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Solano — have clashed with their sheriffs in recent years, none have sought or obtained the authority to remove one.
Wagstaffe did not respond to phone calls seeking clarification on the next steps of the civil grand jury process.
In response to questions about whether the county would continue its Board of Supervisors removal effort, a spokesperson emphasized that the two proceedings are separate.
“The two processes are independent of each other and the issuance of the grand jury accusation is separate from, and distinct of, the Measure A removal process,” county spokesperson Effie Milionis Verducci told this news organization in an email.
Last Tuesday, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted to remove Corpus based on a separate recommendation from pre-removal hearing officer John Keene. The board gained the authority to do so after a special election earlier this year that cost taxpayers at least $4 million.
Corpus has until Tuesday to appeal the board’s decision, which would trigger a formal removal hearing.
Last week, the county described Keene’s recommendation in a news release as an unequivocal endorsement of the findings supporting removal. However, a copy of the recommendation obtained through a Public Records Act request presents a more nuanced assessment.
Keene noted that parts of Corpus’ presentation were compelling, but he ultimately recommended her removal.
The county is working with Corpus’ legal team to select a hearing officer should the appeal process occur, drawing from a list of retired judges and arbiters with experience in public safety discipline. Potential candidates include experienced arbiters Carol Vendrillo and David Hart, and retired Santa Clara County Judge James Emerson.
The effort to remove Corpus stems from a 400-page independent report released last year by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, which accused the sheriff of misconduct, corruption and an inappropriate relationship with Aenlle. A follow-up 524-page investigation by the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters — which included 42 witness interviews — concluded that she violated state and local laws, neglected her duties and obstructed an investigation. Both reports were commissioned by the county.
Sheriff unions that have clashed with Corpus for months — the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants — said Monday they were not surprised by the grand jury’s findings.
“Every time evidence is presented of Sheriff Corpus’ extensive misdeeds, the allegations are upheld,” the unions said in a joint statement. “The Civil Grand Jury, along with Judge LaDoris Cordell, Chief Probation Officer John Keene, and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors have all come to the same conclusion: Sheriff Corpus has committed misconduct and must be removed.”
On Friday, a San Mateo County judge rejected Corpus’ second attempt to halt the board-led removal process.