San Mateo County supervisors reveal damning report on Sheriff’s Office amid arrest of union president

In an explosive press conference on the evening of Nov. 12, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus announced that she had arrested Carlos Tapia, union president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. 

The arrest was announced just 15 minutes before a planned press conference by San Mateo County supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller, where they shared damning findings from an independent investigation that the county commissioned following “an unprecedented” number of complaints against the sheriff. The supervisors will convene a special meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13, to decide on what action to take, including calling on the sheriff to resign due to the investigation’s findings that she is having an affair with her chief of staff, used racist and homophobic slurs, and retaliated against her employees.

In an emailed joint statement released just before Corpus’s press conference, the DSA and the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants alleged that the timing of Tapia’s arrest, just before the county’s independent report was released, suggests “whistleblower retaliation.” Tapia spearheaded the unions’ vote of no confidence against Corpus and her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle.

“This is not a coincidence,” the unions wrote. “Existing policy mandates that any allegation of criminal misconduct against sheriff’s office employees must be referred to the District Attorney’s office.”

Corpus said that she made the decision to arrest Tapia on Tuesday because of “substantial evidence that there was a crime that’s been committed.” She said she “will not turn a blind eye” when there is evidence of a crime. She also claimed that her investigators “shared and conferred evidence with the District Attorney’s office” before arresting Tapia.

“It’s never easy when one of your own is involved in alleged criminal activity,” said Corpus during her press conference. “I must share with you the difficult but necessary decision to arrest a deputy within our office.”

“No one is above the law, and we are committed to accountability at every level,” she added.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed in an email to this news organization that the Sheriff’s Office let his office know that they had investigated Tapia for fraud and planned to arrest him, but that “they did not ask for (the District Attorney’s office’s) opinion.”

“We will review the Sheriff’s Office police reports and determine whether Mr. Tapia committed a crime, and whether it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Wagstaffe.

Following Corpus’ press conference, Tapia said in a statement to the press that he “will not be intimidated by our sheriff” and that he will continue to “faithfully represent” the interests of DSA union members. 

“I look forward to the District Attorney’s review of this investigation, and I’m confident that I will be vindicated,” he said.

According to a copy of Tapia’s bail receipt, which the DSA and OSS released with their joint statement, Tapia was charged with grand theft and fraud, also known as “theft by false pretenses.” Wagstaffe confirmed that more specifically, he was arrested for felony time card fraud. The California penal code definitions of these crimes can include theft of labor of $950, such as by clocking in and out early or late. 

Wagstaffe said that Tapia has not yet been charged with anything by the District Attorney’s office, as the reports for the arrest have not yet been submitted by the Sheriff’s Office as of Wednesday morning, Nov. 13.

Corpus also alleged that Mueller and County Executive Mike Callagy are friends with Tapia and accused both men of “meeting behind closed doors.” She said these allegations raise questions about attempts to undermine her office and urged Mueller and Callagy to “remain on the right side of the law.”

Mueller said in an email to this news organization that these allegations are “simply a fabrication.” 

“I haven’t spoken to Mr. Tapia in months,” he said. “I can’t help but wonder if this perception played a role in the Sheriff’s decision to arrest him.”

At the county’s press conference, Corzo shared that Tapia was arrested without the involvement of the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office. 

“We know that Mr. Tapia was arrested today without a warrant issued by the district attorney,” said Corzo. “We find the timing and circumstances surrounding this arrest to be highly troubling especially given the other findings of Judge Cordell’s investigation.”

400+-page report findings

The investigation by Judge LaDoris H. Cordell, which was commissioned by the county following “an unprecedented volume of complaints brought forward … against members of (Corpus’) executive leadership team,” reported that 12 out of 15 allegations against the Sheriff’s Office were sustained. The findings revealed issues of intimidation, retaliation and abuse of power within Corpus’s executive team, according to the 408-page independent investigation report released following the county press conference Tuesday. 

In the report, Cordell recommended that Corpus step down and Aenlle be terminated immediately. The Board of Supervisors has released Judge Cordell’s full 408-page report with evidence on their website. 

Sustained allegations include a personal relationship between Corpus and Aenlle, Corpus’ use of homophobic and racial slurs, Aenlle’s abuse of authority with Corpus’ approval, Aenlle’s lack of duty requirements met for a level one deputy, retaliation and intimidation by Corpus and her team and Anelle’s improper possession of suppressed rifles. 

The investigator also found sufficient evidence that Aenlle had a conflict of interest when negotiating the lease for the Broadway property to use for a proposed child care center, Aenlle did not follow protocol for the selection of the Broadway property’s contractor and that Aenlle did not follow county procurement policies, according to Cordell’s report.

Allegations that Corpus and Aenlle improperly issued concealed carry weapon permits were found to be unfounded. Exonerated allegations include Aenlle improperly removing social media posts criticizing him and Corpus and claims that Corpus, Undersheriff Dan Perea and Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox improperly possess suppressed rifles. 

The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, to discuss the report’s findings and vote on the county’s course of action in response to them.

“Judge Cordell’s independent investigation contains findings that are unprecedented in the history of San Mateo County government. The sheriff and her chief of staff’s reprehensible conduct demands full transparency and immediate action,” said Mueller at the press conference. “The Board of Supervisors is committed to addressing these issues to the fullest extent permitted by California law.” 

Mueller said that the county could take any or multiple of the following actions: 

• Censuring Corpus

• Calling for Corpus’ resignation

• Removing Aenlle from his role

• Referring the report to the District Attorney’s office and civil grand jury

“While the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors does not currently have independent authority to remove the sheriff, the board may consider bringing a (county) charter amendment in an election to ask the voters for the authority to do so,” said Mueller.

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

A call for resignation from the Board of Supervisors would be essentially symbolic, as they do not currently have the legal authority to remove her outright without action from a grand jury. 

After the press conference, state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice his support for the Board of Supervisors.

“I was disturbed to read the report by Judge LaDoris Cordell. I have considerable concerns about the Sheriff’s ability to fulfill her obligations to the residents of San Mateo County,” said Becker on X. “I stand with the Board of Supervisors as they work through these issues with the Sheriff.”

Jim Lawrence, chair of Fixin’ San Mateo County, a local grassroots organization, also shared a statement on Nov. 13 in support of the Board of Supervisors and their call for Corpus to resign. The organization urges the board to appoint an inspector general and to task the Independent Citizen Advisory Committee to review Cordell’s findings and advise in next steps.

“This report underscores the urgent need for independent oversight to safeguard public trust and ensure accountability within our law enforcement,” said Lawrence. “Judge Cordell’s findings highlight the critical role an Inspector General would play in San Mateo County. If we are to regain confidence in the Sheriff’s Office, we must establish robust oversight mechanisms now.”

Corpus responds

In response to Mueller’s call for her resignation and the possibility that the board may formally call for her resignation, Corpus said that the board has no legal authority over her office, that they cannot force her to resign and that she will not resign, even if the board calls for her to do so. 

“I respect the people of this county too much to walk away when there is a righteous fight underway,” she said at her second press conference of the night. “(It is) a fight against the good ol’ boy system in this county that is corrupt.”

Corpus held two press conferences — one just before the county’s and another a few hours afterward — in response to the investigation’s findings released to the public.

At the second press conference, Corpus denied all allegations made in the county’s report and said that the report was “outright slander” and that she was “disgusted at how low these people will go,” referring to the county officials who commissioned the report. She claimed that she is being targeted by those in power because she “represents change” and is trying to take down what she calls the “good ol’ boys” system in the Sheriff’s Office. 

“Anyone who knows me knows that I would not use racist words. I am not capable of that,” she said. “These allegations are absolutely not true. These are lies. … What I can tell you is that it is a biased report.”

Corpus alleged that screenshots that showed her using homophobic language in text messages, which were included as exhibits in the report, were fabricated. 

“I do not recognize those text messages, it looks very fabricated to me,” she said at the second press conference. “I don’t speak like that.”

She also explicitly denied having an inappropriate personal relationship with Aenlle when asked and said that accusations of an affair are sexist.

“I have a personal relationship with Mr. Aenlle, and with all my employees,” she said in response to the report. “I’ve been dealing with this rhetoric my entire career. … I have addressed this, I have talked about it; Victor Aenlle and I are friends.”

Meeting details

The Board of Supervisors meeting will be hybrid, in person at 500 County Center
Chambers, 1st Floor, in Redwood City, and on Zoom.

View the agenda here.

‘Woman of the Year’ takes plea deal for embezzling $700K from nonprofitJanuary 22, 2026 4:14 pm

Woodside man’s molestation trial resumes after suicide attemptJanuary 22, 2026 10:55 am

Menlo Park office building goes for 2025's highest sales priceJanuary 21, 2026 1:09 pm