BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
Documents obtained by the Post through a California Public Records request reveal that San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy halted San Mateo Sheriff Christina Corpus’ termination of Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan, saying it might be seen as retaliation or an attempt to interfere with an independent investigation of the Sheriff’s Office being conducted by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, based on complaints involving Corpus’ department.
Monaghan remains an employee of the county government, according to Assistant County Attorney David Silberman.
According to Callagy’s email, Monaghan was approached by Corpus’ chief of staff, Victor Aenlle, on Sept. 17 at an event in Half Moon Bay.
Aenlle asked Monaghan whether he had spoken to Judge Cordell, and when Monaghan said he had spoken to Cordell, Aenlle allegedly stated, “When were you planning on telling us this?” Shortly thereafter, Corpus called Monaghan into her office and she fired him, saying he “could not be trusted,” according to Callagy’s email.
In his Sept. 21 email to Corpus, Callagy said “I believe that it is reasonable, on these facts, to conclude that AS Monaghan was retaliated against for his participation in Judge Cordell’s investigation into your department. This would violate the law, including the county’s own ordinance code, and could open up the county to significant litigation risk.”
“Given the foregoing, and in order to mitigate risk to the county, I have directed that AS Monaghan’s termination of employment will not be processed at this time,” Callagy wrote. Callagy reminded Corpus, “It is essential that no county officer or employee take any action to intimidate or retaliate against anyone who participates in the investigation.”
The supervisors have expanded Cordell’s investigation to include the Monaghan firing.
A day before Callagy’s email, Corpus said in a letter to Board of Supervisors President Warren Slocum that she had long been planning to terminate Monaghan because of his “performance duplicity and failure to execute the goals of the Sheriff’s Office expeditiously.” She didn’t explain what she meant by “performance duplicity.” She also said that in her first meeting with Callagy after her election in 2022, he told her she had to tell him who she dated within the county.
Corpus said she felt the question was an “improper and offensive request.” In addition, she requested “…that the Board of Supervisors initiate an independent investigation into Mr. Callagy’s conduct and collusion into my office.”
She asserted in her letter that, “(A)s a woman of color who has endured sexual harassment in this very county, I was shocked and appalled by his inappropriate conduct. I cannot imagine he would have made such a request of my predecessors, all of whom were men,” However, she did not say whether she was dating another county employee.
“Since day one, Mr. Callagy has continued to overstep his authority,” Corpus wrote in her letter. “Routinely inserting himself into the operations of the Sheriff’s Office.”
Sheriff denies county manager’s claims Corpus said Callagy’s claims that the firing is retaliation are “unfounded.”
Attempts to reach Chief of Staff Aenlle to get his side of the conversation Callagy recounted were unsuccessful.
Callagy has disputed the claims Corpus has made about him.
Corpus announced that Capt. Matthew Fox had been promoted the acting role of assistant sheriff.
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