BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
The 4-year-long case involving alleged embezzlement by former San Mateo County Community College chancellor Ron Galatolo has been delayed once again due to complications with jurors, a prosecutor said today.
Judge Leland Davis and the DA’s office are hoping to keep jurors through the end of the trial, estimated to last until late January.
One of the jurors said they may not be able to stay for the entire trial, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. While another juror did not show up today, calling in sick, Wagstaffe said.
Galatolo, 60, of Menlo Park, is accused of taking bribes from contractors hired to expand and renovate the college, which has campuses in Redwood City, San Mateo and San Bruno. The work was funded by three bond measures, which were approved by voters and totaled $1 billion.
Galatolo announced that he was leaving his post as chancellor in Aug. 2019, shortly after that, the Post announced he was under investigation by the DA’s office. After a lengthy investigation, he was charged in April 2022. He was indicted by a grand jury last year in an attempt by the DA’s office to speed up the case.
Galatolo is free on $150,000 cash bail.
Lawyers have selected 12 jurors and four alternates. Judge Davis directed the jurors to return to court in Redwood City on Wednesday for opening statements and the start of the prosecution’s case.
Galatolo is accused of felony tax fraud, misappropriation of public funds, unreported gifts to a public official and conflicts of interest over a 10-year period.
The trial is expected to end in late January because of the courthouse’s holiday breaks in November and December, according to Wagstaffe.
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