Former San Mateo Community College District Chancellor Ron Galatolo’s trial on 23 felony counts alleging he steered construction contracts to favored vendors in exchange for valuable gifts and then failed to disclose them is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 29, in San Mateo County Superior Court, after years of delays, added charges and pretrial fights over electronic evidence.
Prosecutors say Galatolo, 60, of Menlo Park, accepted “numerous valuable” gifts, including concert and sports tickets and international travel from firms doing business with the San Mateo County Community College District. Prosecutors say he did not report them on required Form 700 statements of economic interest. He is also accused of tax fraud, perjury and misappropriation/theft of public funds. Galatolo has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $150,000 bail.
The case began with an April 2019 whistleblower complaint and culminated in Galatolo’s April 2022 arrest at San Francisco International Airport. He served as chancellor from 2001 to 2021, including two years as “chancellor emeritus,” before the district severed ties alleging he failed to perform work under a $467,700 annual contract.
Even though prosecutors will present opening arguments on Oct. 29, the trial is expected to last until January 2026, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
After Galatolo’s initial arraignment, the District Attorney’s Office added two counts, theft of public funds and embezzlement, alleging district money was improperly used to pay Galatolo’s private lawyer. Those counts followed a lengthy dispute over prosecutors’ access to emails between Galatolo and his attorney; the California Supreme Court declined to intervene, and prosecutors say the messages are evidence of criminal conduct.
Prosecutors also allege Galatolo wrote off, on his personal 2017 state tax return, a $10,000 Tubbs Fire relief donation that was actually made by the district’s foundation, and (separate from his district role) underreported prices on high-end and classic car purchases to the DMV.
Separately, former district facilities chief José Nuñez pled no contest in 2022 to two felonies for using public funds for political purposes. As part of the plea deal Nuñez signed, he agree to testify against co-conspirators the District Attorney’s Office charges. Even after the plea deal, Nuñez faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in prison. The District Attorney’s Office expects to call Nuñez to testify in Galatolo’s case.
Civil litigation has unfolded alongside the criminal case. The district sued several contractors this year alleging “pay-to-play” schemes tied to projects at its three colleges and named Galatolo as a co-conspirator; one contractor, Allana Buick & Bers CEO Karim Allana, countersued seeking more than $32 million for reputational harm.
Galatolo’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment ahead of trial.
In court documents, Galatolo’s defense argues that the District Attorney’s Office is misconstruing trivial gifts and a friendly relationship with a financial interest that causes a financial interest.
The defense also argues that current Trustee Richard Holober and former trustees Maurice Goodman and Dave Mandelkern violated the Brown Act by coordinating to fire Galatolo in 2018. Goodman and Holober are scheduled to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Knowingly violating the Brown Act can be a criminal offense.
Holober did not respond to a request for comment.
Editor’s Note: Reporter Arden Margulis is a student in the San Mateo Community College District.
