BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, who told the county supervisors she didn’t know about her department’s request to buy 10 massage chairs, actually tried to pass off the bill for the chairs to the sheriff’s bureaus in different cities to minimize scrutiny, according to an email from her HR manager.
Human Resources Manager Heather Enders emailed Director of Technology Services Kimberly Honciano on April 24 to tell her the massage chairs won’t be paid for by the earmarked $100,000 as a wellness expense, according to an email exchange obtained by the Post using the California Public Records Act.
“While I recognize the scrutiny the sheriff is currently facing, asking bureaus to absorb an unexpected $7,000 expense simply to avoid negative optics feels unfair and misaligned with how we should be supporting each other internally,” Enders wrote.
Enders said in the email that the switch in payment placed her in a difficult position, where it made her look like she had misled people.
“The cost of these chairs is now being charged to individual departments, which is not consistent with the original discussion I had with Stacey (Stevenson) and the sheriff,” Enders wrote.
Stevenson is the director of finance for the sheriff.
Corpus signed off on chairs
In a previous email exchange, Enders emailed Corpus on March 28 requesting her approval of the massage chairs.
“A significant amount of work has gone into procuring these, in line with your vision for staff wellness. As you may recall, you had directed the Professional Standards Bureau to purchase these chairs, and $100k has been earmarked for this initiative, with commitments made to the bureaus,” Enders wrote.
Who pays?
A massage chair was delivered to the sheriff’s bureau in San Carlos on April 18, according to an email that Sgt. Jerri Cosens sent Enders on April 24. She was asked to provide an invoice for the chair, but emailed Enders asking her why if it was paid for by the wellness grant.
“I would let (Stevenson) and the sheriff work this out. I would hope that they wouldn’t expect San Carlos to cover the cost after the item has been delivered and was originally offered to bureaus under the ruse of a general wellness expense,” Enders wrote to Cosens.
Supervisor Jackie Speier has been trying to get answers about the massage chairs since April 22, when she asked Undersheriff Dan Perea about them at a supervisors’ hearing. Perea said he wasn’t involved, and Corpus wasn’t at the hearing.
Then on June 24, Speier had her first chance to publicly ask Corpus about the chairs at a budget hearing.
Corpus responded, “I did not see that request because I would not have approved it.”
The purchase was declined by Procurement Director Jas Sandhar, Speier said. Corpus ended up purchasing two chairs. Each one cost $6,670 for a total of $13,340, sheriff’s spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said in April.
Other purchases
In March, the Post reported that Corpus purchased two soft-serve ice cream machines for employees in the county jails.
In January, the Post reported that she had purchased a $74,000 conference room table. The 22-foot by 10-foot table includes 12 “cooling fans” in the legs and 10 “lockable access doors.”
At the time, Supervisor David Canepa said it may be the most expensive table in the history of San Mateo County.
At a June 24 hearing, Supervisor Speier asked Corpus why she put in a request for a $600,000 TV for the headquarters conference room. Corpus didn’t directly answer the question, only saying she had withdrawn the request when it was questioned.
Corpus also signed a $35,687 monthly lease in August 2023 to convert a building at 690 Broadway in Redwood City into a daycare and substation for the North Fair Oaks neighborhood. But the plans were halted a year later, and the building remains vacant. And while the building was seen as a future substation for North Fair Oaks residents, it’s not even located in that community but in neighboring Redwood City.
I don’t want my taxes being used to purchase massage chairs for Sheriff Corpus and her boyfriend! Were already crippled by prop 13 in San Carlos and don’t have the tax base like neighboring cities. Something needs to be done to ensure San Carlos residents are not funding Sheriff Corups’ extravagant tables, television, and trips to Hawaii with her boyfriend!!
There is no way prop 13 is crippling anything when homes are regularly selling for 100k to 500k over asking and the median price in San Mateo county is 1.9 million. Funds are just not being allocated in a good way.
Wow, that is blatant waste of tax payers money when that money can help the city and its community programs. This sherrif needs to be removed from office. Obviously she is only looking out for herself and her priorities toward her department and community are all wrong.
I’m proud of our elected Sheriff and the job she’s been doing in spite if the all Democrat board of supervisors trying to undermine her tenure. It’s unconstitutional for the Democrat supervisors yo steal our voter rights. I’m interested in their arrest and indictment surely not by their co-conspirator Wagstaffe but by real law enforcement officers.
When is someone going to fire this stupid broad?
Ah, the degree of involvement by Stacey Stevenson becomes far more clear by connecting the proverbial dots of public records. Remembering that Stacey Stevenson is the director of finance for the sheriff, the Keker investigators requested voluntary interviews from her and SMCSO Human Resources staff member Connor Santos-Stevenson. Ms. Stevenson did not respond to multiple interview requests from the Keker investigators. Mr. Santos-Stevenson declined to participate in a voluntary interview. (Vol. 1, p. 163). Mr. Santos-Stevenson is Ms. Stevenson’s son (Vol. 1, p. 184, fn. 3). The Oppenheimer Report explains that their investigators, “…attempted to speak to both Perea and Stevenson, but they both stopped responding to communications regarding their interviews” (pdf p. 8, report p. 6, fn. 11).
Key quotes from the Post article above about the massage chairs purchase, “‘The cost of these chairs is now being charged to individual departments, which is not consistent with the original discussion I had with Stacey (Stevenson) and the sheriff,’ Enders wrote.” Yet at the June 24, 2025 budget hearing Corpus replied to a direct question about the massage chairs purchase, “I did not see that request because I would not have approved it” (B. Cartwright, PADP, 7/2/25, para. 6). Stevenson avoided confirming the email’s confirmation of Corpus’ knowledge and involvement. Another untruthful public statement, by Corpus, to Supervisor Speier to obstruct Speier’s inquiry into SMCSO fiscal affairs and Corpus’ personal involvement and behaviors. Another independent grounds for Corpus’ removal from office now authorized by the County Charter via the Measure A verbiage.
In addition, the Keker report clarifies that in January 2023, “Mr. Aenlle’s contractor agreement was signed by Stacey Stevenson, the acting Director of Finance in the Sheriffs Office at that time” (Vol. 1, p. 170; Cordell Report, p. 239). Further, the Keker report clarified that, “At all relevant times, Ms. Stevenson reported directly to Mr. Aenlle” (Vol. 1, p. 182). Whether Stevenson was originally compromised by Corpus or by Aenlle, or by both of them, remains to be established. Stevenson is nonetheless either a key witness, or a co-conspirator, who would be wise to strike a deal with criminal prosecutors on both the County and Federal levels to avoid of limit her potential future jail time in exchange for her truthful and forthright testimony against her other co-conspirators. How many other children will does Stevenson have that she might only see through a custody jail visit? What in the world could be worth that? It does appear that Stevenson has entrenched herself in what has become known as the corrupt Corpus Cartel. The plot thickens and becomes far more clear by aligning the various investigations.
[Comment removed for Terms of Use violation. Please don’t use different names on the same thread.]
Great comment
Well written comment. Why wouldn’t they participate in the interview? Do they have something to hide? How many other Stevenson family members will have positions created for them in the Sheriff’s Office. Currently two of her kids are working in the Sheriff’s Office. Just inquire able what Connor Santos-Stevenson daily function is.
Corpus also spent copious amounts of taxpayer money on renovation of the Maguire Facility. Over $50M was spent. An forensic audit is needed to not only look into the money spent but also an inquiry as to how many of the vendors had connections to Aenlle. As in Watergate, follow the money and look for any kickbacks and conflicts of interest.
There’s a massage chair in the basement of Maguire. Someone said it came from San Carlos. I don’t know where $50 million dollars was spent. Certainly not on the elevators inside here.
Elevators? Cops should be taking the stairs anyway
This is just more proof that San Mateo County should have been absorbed by Santa Clara County years ago.
Nah – then we would have had to suffer under Sheriff Laurie Smith for close to 30 years, where CCWs were auctioned off for campaign donations… Besides, I dont want people from Gilroy making decisions on issued here.
Please San Mateo residents don’t want more Democrats destroying our county. Santa Clara county is worse than San Mateo.
What a stupid ignorant thing to say! You try taking 30 inmates up several flights of stairs (many who are in wheelchairs.)
Tables, chairs, and vacant buildings….Stacey and Christy are thick as thieves.
They both have not been in the office much since information of their shady dealings were made public.
It’s clear to me that Sheriff Corpus realizes she’ll be spending a significant amount of time being housed in her own jail, and is simply spending the appropriate amount of money to make herself comfortable.
The sheriff needs ice cream to be comfortable?
What bothers me the most about this entire scandal is how Sheriff Corpus defends herself by stating it is all because the is the first Latina in the position. However there are fellow Latinas completely horrified by her behavior and trying to put a stop to her charades. Please stop using the race and gender cards. We all see clearly now and the collective shame is rampant.
California dreaming just like their Governor a spend thrift
From reading Corpus’um speech to the Probation Chief it’s clear her and Victor sit around reading all these comments. Likely at a private resport/spa outside the bay area. I hope you two are happy with yourselves. You’ve ruined a lot of good peoples lives.
This is absolutely crazy. I pay for a gym membership and apparently it’s not enough to provide me use of the massage chairs. In all honesty, why does a deputy need a massage chair at the station? Are they using station resources whole not on shift and being funded by tax payers? Is this not a misappropriation of resources? In a 20 year career, how many new patrol vehicles will they have sat in? How many actual criminals will the average deputy have apprehended? Why are law enforcement salaries in the bay areas so high and the pensions just as high for such a limited tike of work, meanwhile many people work into their mid 60’s because they don’t have a choice.
Hey, didn’t this Sheriff get a penal facility 2 soft serve ice cream machines for employee use and a near $75k conference table that locking drawers and a dozen cooling fans?
Meanwhile, sideshow cause damage, and though requesting a +$500,000 ‘tv monitor”, none of them can use their cell phone to go on IG and arrest a person posting their unlawful activities?
Bay Area Law Enforcement salaries are relatively high because we want our First Responders to live in the community. When “the Big One” hits ala 1906, all of those cops living in Concord, Livermore, or Tracy won’t do us any good, because they won’t be able to get here.
This crook needs to be removed from office and then prosecuted
This Sheriff Corpus is one of the most dangerous types of person, thst you can have in a leadership position such as hers. She is looking at budgets, grants, & expense accounts as that which will cover her online shopping sprees. I guarantee you there are those who are being paid for services never rendered, or as part of a “kickback” to those in charge of overseeing budget spending. Theres already been a suspicious amount of Order & Cancel, and hire then hold off, type of scenarios. I bet there are lost deposits with very high totals.
The Coruption in California is unreal!!!
Is this what happens when Women are in charge? They go shopping for overpriced luxuries in the guise of “wellness”. Or just a California thing? I bet they didn’t try hiring mental health experts. Are these used when not on duty? Officers coming in on their day off for a spa day paid by tax payers? Guess it is really stressful letting drugs and homeless just hang out at parks.
This team of thieves are scary! I believe they need to look deeper. All of these people need their banking accounts looked at. They are stealing all the funds for themselves. She is a liar and obviously very manipulative. These things have nothing to do with running a sheriffs office. This team has bigger plans for this money. I believe there are more people involved than just these companies. This is really disgusting. I am Dominican and I am sorry sister girl but you are an Olympic bold ass thief! To jail you will go!
Wow!! At a loss of words. I Can not fathom a 600k dollar tv or 75k dollar table. Mcdonalds cant get working ice cream machines but county jail deputies can. What in the embezzlement is goin on? City must be so perfect it didnt have better way to spend tax dollars on. Like a wife with her husbands charge card…typical.
They should use the money for homeless and at risk teens than stupid massage chairs.
I bet Wagstaffe is shaking his head in disbelief at the circus of chaos Corpus has created.