County Manager Mike Callagy has filed a $10.5 million claim against Sheriff Christina Corpus and her former Chief of Staff, Victor Aenlle, claiming they made false and defamatory statements about him and damaged his reputation.
Callagy’s claim also names San Mateo County, the agency he heads, because Corpus and Aenlle were employees of the county.
The claim is one of several the county has received from current or former employees who are seeking damages based on actions by Corpus and Aenlle.
The Board of Supervisors will decide whether to pay the claim or deny it. If it is denied, he can sue the county. The supervisors employ Callagy.
Corpus, who took office in 2023, is accused of nepotism, arresting a critic, intimidating her employees, making racist and homophobic slurs, and running jails that have had an unusual number of inmate deaths.
The claim cites numerous statements Corpus and Aenlle have made that he says are false and were intended to cause him “severe emotional distress.” Callagy said the statements were also intended to distract the public from the allegations of wrongful conduct by Sheriff Corpus and Aenlle.
On March 4, 85% of voters agreed to change the county charter to allow the Board of Supervisors to fire a sheriff. Once the vote count is certified, the supervisors are expected to begin the process of firing Corpus, which includes holding a hearing during which she can defend herself. Aenlle’s contract with the county was already canceled by the supervisors.
In his claim, Callagy denies the following allegations Corpus made.
• That Callagy made “an inappropriate and offensive request to inform him (about) who I dated within the county.”
• That Callagy “continued to overstep his authority (by) routinely inserting himself into the operations of the sheriff’s office.” Callagy also denies that statement.
• That Callagy supported a group of employees she referred to as the “good old boys.”
Callagy also denied the following statements he attributed to Aenlle:
• “Callagy is the godfather of Ryan Monaghan’s daughter,” an assistant sheriff fired by Corpus. Callagy said he wouldn’t recognize Monaghan’s daughter if she walked in front of him.
• Callagy shut down plans to open a daycare center and substation in a 14,275-square-foot building 686-690 Broadway in Redwood City to retaliate against Corpus.
Callagy’s claim explained why the daycare and substation plans are on hold. “There was no plan presented on how it would be run, there was no pro forma, no plan as to who would run it, how it would be paid for, what the tax liability would be to the deputies, what the subsidy would be, what the need was, and who would use it,” the claim said.
The county leased the building on Aug. 1, 2023 from its owners, the DiNapoli Family LP, and is paying $35,687 a month in rent.
Callagy said the statements by Corpus and Aenlle are “false, defamatory, made in anger and hostility” and with malice. For a public figure like Callagy to prevail in a defamation case, he must show a false statement was made with “actual malice,” meaning the person who made the statement did so with a “reckless disregard for whether it was false or not.”
Callagy’s claim was dated March 13, but wasn’t released by the county until yesterday. Callagy is represented by former SamTrans/Caltrain chief executive Jim Hartnett, a Redwood City attorney.
SMC Manager NEEDS TO RESIGN or put on leave…he has a conflict of interest and no longer can serve the residents of San Mateo County! All these County employees want to sue and want to milk us residents for MORe $$$$. Shame on them! As Trump says these government employees need to go! Go find jobs in the private sector and get a reality check. Corpus wasn’t elected to to serve the police union or employees of the County!
She is doing her job as long as she keeps us safe and stays in touch with community!SMC pays some of the highest salaries in the Country. Go find another job!
is he being represented by the same former politician political player STONE?
Victor Aenlle, please stop commenting on these forums and concentrate on listening to your legal defense team. Your sick obsession with the Sheriff’s Office is destroying you.
Good for Mike C for filing a claim,he is a good and decent man who is a respected public servant. Did y’all think you could get away with your lies and corrupt behaviour ?
You and Crazy Christy should be wearing an orange jumpsuit after your despicable behavior.
When are Corpus Aenlle and Parea going to realize multiple claims will transfer to going after their personal property and pension – and then regret not resigning months ago.
Not to mention possible jail time for the three of them for corruption. the few wanna be corpus defenders/ followers will probably say this was a political coup even after a grand jury convicts her
What part about corruption does Corpus not understand? The sad part is the length of time it take to file charges and convict elected officials- what a waste of tax payer money and county funds. For selfish, incompetent people.
Wonder how ABC7 news Noyes will allow another false plot twist on these latest claims- I am sure Dan will continue defending the corrupt sheriff and ignore 90k voters in the county- over his friend and buddy corpus and aenlle. Way to lose respect in your career Dan Noyes- we all count on your BS which btw noone believes now.
Corpus had the audacity to file a complaint then not cooperate with her own allegations on the county manager what a complete disgusting individual she is.
Bring back the brittany spears dancer Pepperfield
What is false about them? I believe Dan Noyes..
I think Dan has been taken off the story and reassigned to that squirrel who can waterski and the baby panda birth.
Considering Dan hasn’t mentioned the recent county employees wronged by Corpus should be the one large thing wrong with Noyes. When you are a journalist who twists news because they are friends with Corpus and Aenlle and ignore relevant facts from the majority of the county that is called false one sided news. At some point it is catching up because most stories are being ignored and most county employees won’t talk to Noyes since he has proven to be unethical. Threatening and further victimizing employees wronged, ignoring facts, twisting truth none of it has helped his friends. Now Noyes is one of them. Ruined his own reputation and likely to be a class action against ABC7 for allowing it
You can’t do a class action for a TV station broadcasting fake news. Your best hope is to challenge their license to broadcast. KGO-TV’s license doesn’t expire until 2030, but that gives you plenty of time to file a petition with the FCC Mass Media bureau and begin the process. Just filing a petition will cause the station to clean house because a license is the single most valuable thing they own. They’re not going to let anything or anyone stand in the way of renewing that license, not even Dan Noyes. The best part about challenging a TV station’s license is that you can do it from the comfort of your home, using your computer. It doesn’t cost a thing, unless you want to hire a lawyer to make sure you don’t make any mistakes. A couple of years ago, somebody challenged the Fox-owned station’s license in Philadelphia. Instantly, that station went from conservative to center-left in a desperate attempt to save their license.
There are ways to sue the media. Fake false deliberate defamation is illegal not a protected freedom of speech.
29 pages missing- how many notes have been missing from Noyes notes? Irrelevant facts, headlines matter
Read it again Fakey, the question was whether you could file a “class action” against a TV station, and the answer is no. Of course you can pursue a defamation claim, but you’ve got to have a lot of money to pay for the lawyers and you’ve got to overcome major legal hurdles that would be in the defendant’s favor. But a class action suit is entirely different from a defamation suit. Next time, read the comment first.
There is a reason, Mr.Aenlle has retained faded, criminal defense attorney, Jeffrey Carr. He’s going to need him.
For the record, it’s *Geoff Carr,not “Jeffrey ” Carr. He is an excellent defense attorney and I am looking forward to seeing what he produces
Maybe you’ll only lose a handful of properties and reduce your jail time
You need everything you can in your basket since you played a lot of dirty tricks on the County
Agreed, Geoff Carr is an excellent attorney, apparently he likes a challenge.
Why would Victor hire a “criminal” attorney? Is there something coming down the pipe from the DA’s Office?
Exactly I find it interesting. Mr Anele hired an attorney who represents murderers who have committed some of the most heinous crimes. The good doctor knows he is screwed. Even a high priced Attorney like Mr Carr can’t save him. I hope his wife wakes up and leaves him before he drains all of the Family money.
Let’s make it a trifecta this week, with the DA’s Office releasing the findings of the five investigations born out of the Cordell Report.
My suggestion is to ignore the “CryBabyCountyEmployees” comment above. An outstanding editorial by Mr. Price located on page six of the latest digital edition of The Post explains how these claims against the County, and the subsequent lawsuits that will undoubtedly follow, especially those seeking punitive damages, are likely unconsidered consequences for Corpus Corruption Crew.
While I’m disappointed to see any employee litigate against their employer, I’m confident the bigger puzzle pieces will come together as more information becomes public. Perhaps the cases will be combined and that substantial coastal ranch that Aenlle brags about as the third largest property in the county will ultimately become permanent worker housing and an absolutely beautiful county park when it has to be liquidated to settle the combined lawsuits.
Read Mr Price’s opinion piece today; it is insightful and very well done. Mr. Callagy and the numerous others, wherever you reside, do whatcha’ feel ya’ gotta’ do. All y’all been wronged and appear entitled to damages.
I’m sooo confused. The facts are that Mike Callagy used $200k of public money to hire Ladoris Cordell ( no Peer review, administrative review, quality review or proficiency testing) to write a defammation of character piece against Sheriff Cristina Corpus ( with no affadavits or recorded testimony) and now he is somehow claiming that “he” is the victim? LMAO There are terms for this: projection, gaslighting .
Your first sentence says it all. You are so confused!
The person and people gaslighting you are Corpus and Aenlle. Good luck digging your way through their pile of garbage filling your head. Someday soon you may see the light and truth.
Truth seek on your own, perhaps you will be less confused.
Who told you that Steve ? Victor and Christina ? Sounds like 2 paranoid people deterring factual corruption attention away from themselves with some story. Get the facts straight
Callagy’s decision to hire Hartnett as his lawyer is hilarious. Corpus is accused of nepotism. So how did Hartnett meet his wife?