San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, in the second day of a hearing in which she is appealing her firing, denied having a love affair with her chief of staff Victor Aenlle even though an investigation found he bought her $8,000 diamond Tiffany earrings and $1,200 Louboutin boots. Proving she and Aenlle had an affair is key to the county’s allegation that she engaged in nepotism, a violation of county policy.
The Post is covering the hearing, which is expected to continue through next week, and is providing updates throughout the day. Check back here for the latest testimony.
11 a.m. — The county’s attorney, Jan Little, is questioning Corpus. A number of times, Corpus began answering the question before Little had finished speaking. Then, former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez, who is on Corpus’ legal team, stood up from his seat and asked the hearing officer to let Corpus answer.
Corpus said she would let Little speak if Little would let her speak.
12:30 p.m. — Little asked Corpus why Aenlle still appears on the sheriff’s office website even though he is no longer an employee. The Board of Supervisors fired him in November, nine months ago.
“I’ve been a little busy,” Corpus said.
The supervisors fired Aenlle after a 400-page independent investigation by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell came out, alleging Corpus and Aenlle used intimidation and retaliation to run the sheriff’s department. The report also concluded that the two were having an affair.
Then Little asked about the alleged affair between Corpus and Aenlle.
Little asked Corpus if she and Aenlle would “touch each other,” to which Corpus quickly said, “In which way?”
Corpus said they were only friends and denied the allegations that Associate Management Analyst Valerie Barnes and others have made about their relationship. Little asked Corpus again if she considered Barnes a “confidant,” which Little defined yesterday as someone with whom you can share secrets.
Corpus said she shared her marital troubles with Barnes and wanted to divorce her husband. Little showed various text messages between Corpus and Barnes, where they talked about Corpus’s ex-husband being a “jerk.”
1 p.m. — Little asked if she ever told Aenlle about her marital troubles. Corpus said she mentioned some of it to him.
Her husband, retired sheriff’s Lt. John Kovach, filed for divorce from Corpus on April 17, 2023.
Little asked if Aenlle bought her boots and Corpus said no. The Cordell investigation said that Aenlle bought Corpus $1,200 Louboutin boots.
Little then asked about Corpus’ trips to Aenlle’s ranch in the Montara-Moss Beach area. Corpus said she enjoyed going to his ranch because she loves animals and finds them very healing. Corpus said she was going through a hard time, and being around the animals helped her.
1:15 p.m. — The county introduced as evidence text messages between Corpus and Barnes, including one with a picture showing Corpus wearing diamond earrings.
“Enjoy being spoiled and doted on,” Barnes said to Corpus in one of texts.
Little asked Corpus who was spoiling her. Corpus said she didn’t know what Barnes was talking about, which is why she didn’t answer. Corpus told Little to ask Barnes that question.
“Send me a pic of your sparklies in please,” Barnes said in another message to Corpus.
Little asked Corpus if Aenlle bought her a pair of Tiffany earrings.
“I worked really hard in the campaign. I bought my earrings myself,” Corpus said. Her husband didn’t buy her anything and she thought she deserved something for her hard work, Corpus said.
Corpus said she paid $8,000 cash for her earrings.
Little asked Corpus if, in her years of experience in law enforcement, had encountered cases where people used cash to avoid a record of purchases. Corpus quickly said that wasn’t the case, while shaking her head.
2 p.m. — Little showed Corpus the nepotism and conflicting relationships policy in the sheriff’s office. Little pointed out that the policy even bans an appearance of nepotism or a conflict of interest.
“If that’s the case, the county is filled with nepotism,” Corpus said, referring to nepotism.
Little questioned Corpus about the arrest of Carlos Tapia, president of the deputies’ union.
Corpus said she clashed with Tapia over whether to pay officers double overtime to fill vacancies. Corpus lost more than 100 employees in her first year in office.
She said she was told by former Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox that Tapia would report to be in places where he wasn’t, and that prompted the investigation into his timecard, leading to his arrest. Corpus said that it was relayed to her that Chief Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang saw “probable cause” to arrest Tapia.
Tapia was arrested on Nov. 12, 2024, on suspicion of two charges alleging timecard fraud. District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe threw out the case on Dec. 16, 2024.
Little asked her if deputies arrested Tapia without a warrant.
“It was a probable cause arrest,” Corpus responded.
Little said that Chang said there was not enough information to move forward and asked if there was urgency. Chang is expected to testify during the Measure A hearings.
“It was still happening. How would it look like to the residents of this county?” Corpus said.
Corpus said that if she were able to redo everything again, she would’ve asked the District Attorney’s office or an outside agency to conduct the investigation of Tapia.
2:30 p.m. — Little asked Corpus about former Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan, whom Corpus tried to fire after he told Aenlle he was interviewed for the Cordell report. Little asked why Corpus wanted to fire him.
“I believed in him,” Corpus said.
But she claimed Monaghan was leaking information to County Manager Mike Callagy. Corpus said she felt like she couldn’t trust Monaghan anymore.
It was just a coincidence that she fired Monaghan two days after the Cordell report was released, according to Corpus.
Corpus said Monaghan’s firing was long overdue because when she hired Undersheriff Dan Perea, Monaghan became very defiant.
During that time, Monaghan was going through a hard time — one of his in-laws was sick and died. His daughter was also struggling, according to Corpus. Corpus said she was being a “human being” and thought about Monaghan’s struggles before firing him.
3 p.m. — Little asked Corpus about Sgt. Jimmy Chan and why he was transferred to work at the San Francisco Airport after he was at a press conference in support of Measure A, the charter amendment approved by 84% of voters in March that authorized the Board of Supervisors to fire Corpus.
Corpus said she told Chan she was going to transfer him before the news conference. Corpus said there was a need at the airport, and his appearance at the campaign was not a factor in her decision.
Little changed topics to discuss Capt. Rebecca Albin, who alleges she was locked out of the Half Moon Bay bureau after posting a farewell message to the community on Nextdoor.
“I did not shut her out of the office,” Corpus said.
Albin had previously put in her two weeks’ notice. But Corpus wasn’t aware that Albin would be going public with her departure. “It left me in a corner with the community and city managers,” Corpus said.
3:20 p.m. — Little asked Corpus if she had ever used slurs to describe others. Corpus denied it.
Corpus denied calling former Sheriff Carlos Bolanos “coconut” and said she doesn’t even know the meaning of it.
Little gave Corpus the Urban Dictionary definition of “coconut,” but Corpus said she has never used Urban Dictionary nor knew the meaning.
Corpus also denied using any homophobic slurs.
Little presented a text message exchange between Corpus and Barnes.
“Fuzz bumpers’ sister is coming…” Corpus texted Barnes.
Corpus said it was Barnes who called a local official by the slur, because she didn’t have a lot of hair. Corpus said she was not proud of using the phrase after Little told her it was homophobic.
3:45 p.m. — Former DNC chair Tom Perez started his questioning by asking Corpus questions about where she grew up and why she was interested in working in law enforcement. Perez joined Corpus’ legal team earlier this month.
Corpus started telling, with a smile on her face, the story of where she grew up and what high school she attended.
Corpus said she started working for the county in 1995 and was interested in becoming an attorney. She also told the story of when she was held at gunpoint, which made her want to join law enforcement.
Perez asked Corpus about the struggles she had to overcome when she was moving up the ranks.
Corpus quoted something an officer allegedly told her more than 25 years ago.
“I miss the days when we could hog tie (n-word) and beat the s*** out of (slur for Latinos),” Corpus said in the courtroom. Corpus apologized for the slurs before saying them.
Corpus also talked about other instances of discrimination she endured, like being told she looked like she should be barefoot and pregnant in a kitchen.
Perez told retired Judge James Emerson, who is overseeing the hearings, that he would often use the word “culture” because he wanted Emerson to understand the environment where Corpus works.
“I had to put up with it,” Corpus said. Corpus said she was always a hard worker who went above standards.
4:30 p.m. — Perez asked Corpus about how she met her ex-husband. Corpus said they met while working in the jail and got married in 2008. They currently share the custody of their children, according to Corpus.
Corpus teared up when discussing her son with autism because it caused issues in her marriage.
Perez also asked Corpus where she met Aenlle. Corpus and Aenlle met at the sheriff’s office range, Corpus said. Aenlle told her that he was interested in law enforcement after his brother was murdered.
Corpus denied the allegations of having a relationship with Aenlle again when Perez asked.
Corpus said Aenlle was on the plane during her trip to Hawaii, but only to help her. Aenlle, who is also a realtor and a private detective, was on a job to protect a high-net-worth client, according to Corpus. They only met once for coffee during Corpus’s five-day trip, she said.
Aenlle has offered differing versions of the Hawaii trip to retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, who issued a 400-page report last year, which raised many of the questions Corpus was asked about today.
5 p.m. — Perez asked Corpus about all the people who have made allegations against her and how she’s treated them. Corpus said that she has always been fair with everyone and has given them promotions or raised their salary.
“Regardless of how someone feels about me, I will advocate for them,” Corpus said.
Corpus also pointed out why the massage chairs she wanted for the sheriff’s officers were made into a “huge deal.” She said she just bought two chairs, and it was made into a big thing as if she committed a “massive crime.”
6 p.m. — Thomas Mazzucco, another attorney representing Corpus, took over the questioning of Corpus.
Mazzucco asked Corpus about her relationship with County Manager Mike Callagy. Corpus said that Callagy would always question her about her budget and never respected her. Callagy would address Corpus as “Christina” in all of his emails until last week, when he started saying “Sheriff Corpus.”
At Corpus’ swearing-in ceremony, Callagy sat in the back of the room in jeans and a polo when there was assigned seating for county employees, according to Corpus.
“Talking about nepotism,” Corpus said.
Callagy kept Monaghan on payroll despite her decision to fire him. He said he did it to avoid a lawsuit from Monaghan alleging wrongful termination. Monaghan now heads a countywide initiative to combat human trafficking.
Corpus said Supervisor Jackie Speier called her after former undersheriff Chris Hsiung had an exit interview with Callagy, concerned about her leadership. Corpus said Speier told her Callagy was talking about replacing her with Hsiung.
Mazzucco asked Corpus if she was comfortable with Callagy sitting in the room where the decisions over her job are being made.
“Would you?” Corpus said, to which Mazzucco said, “No.”
As for the arrest of Tapia, Corpus said there was an “overwhelming” amount of evidence against Tapia, the head of the deputies union who had spoken out against Corpus. Assistant Sheriff Matthew Fox was ready to move forward with the arrest, but Corpus said she wanted to get a green light from the DA’s office beforehand.
Corpus said that since then, Fox, who left the sheriff’s office, has lied about her.
Corpus said she currently has two outside agencies conducting investigations into her office because information keeps getting leaked out, referring to social media posts.
Corpus said that she’s not sure if everyone’s against her because she is Latina, but she points out that all the men accusing her are Caucasian.
Mazzucco asked Corpus about her ethnicity and some customs they have. Corpus said that growing up Hispanic, she was taught to always have cash in case of an emergency. But also that paying for items in cash was better, referring to her $8,000 Tiffany earring purchase.
Looking forward to your reports each day.
BLATANT OUTRIGHT LIES!!! Corpus is disgusting!
The county taxpayers are footing her legal fees. But once they fire her, she’s on her own. She’s probably got two trials in her future … the civil grand jury accusations and possibly a criminal case stemming from her abuses of power, like arresting and jailing Carlos Tapia. After her performance on the witness stand today, a perjury charge is possible too.
The Math is not Mathing.
Who walks into a store with $8k in cash?
Who carries $8k in cash around?
Everyone following this story should ask themselves, have you ever in your life walked into a store with $8k in cash?
Corpus was married at the time of this purchase. Wouldn’t that make the $8k, community property monies? If so, that would make the purchase a community property asset.
Did her ex husband receive one earring in the divorce as his half of the community property asset division?
Meanwhile, landlords, like Aenlle, tend to carry large quantities of cash, especially on the first of the month because most low wage workers pay rent in cash.
Sure seems like a woman against the good old boys to me. So what am I missing that require me to leap to a conclusion?
Is she “testilying” under oath?
Day 2 thoughts and comments- Some of the details seem off- the Cordell report was released in November the day Tapia was arrested. When the Asst. Sheriff was “fired” it was two days after the Sheriff learned that he spoke with Judge Cordell- coincidental timing I think not.
As a Sheriff who experienced racial slurs 20-25+ years ago (as a deputy), I don’t see the relevance to her actions towards current employees since she became the Sheriff. You can’t lash out on people that had nothing to do with poor behaviors just because you have PTSD or because Victor decides who to like and when not to like them. Were any of those alleged people still working at the Sheriff office? Do those racial slurring people from 20-30 years ago even know any of the victims involved in these hearings? Opinions and actions based on paranoia, insecurities, spill over effect from other people, likely formulated around her inappropriate/close relationship with Aenlle and his experiences?
As a Sheriff who worked in the jails and experienced a wide range of language slang, slurs and derogatory comments it is unbelievable to sit on the witness stand and claim to have gone to catholic school and you thought the homophobic comment on your phone meant the person had short fuzzy hair? Do better, be honest have common sense.
Finally, admit you can not be impartial to a person that you spend personal time with your family in Hawaii, at their ranch, sharing meals/dinners, traveling to conferences together. Nepotism means you hire a close personal friend and supervise them- you ask for pay raises, you ignore their bad behaviors, you trust them over anyone else- read the policy- Corpus clearly violated this resulting in multiple lawsuits for wrongdoing. This situation started EXACTLY because Corpus hired Aenlle and gave him a job he IS NOT qualified for. And Corpus- you have been busy- but not busy enough to remove other people from the website- not busy enough to add gold letters on an empty office door for Aenlle and no excuse why Aenlle is listed on the Sheriff website except to be defiant and immoral. Resign.
As a retired Deputy, and watching this case pretty closely, I can’t believe the BS coming from her mouth. Anyone who worked with her and knew her, knows that she wasn’t up to the task of even being a deputy sheriff, let alone the sheriff. In my experience with SO I never ever heard anyone use the N word or call anyone a derogatory name, and I was there 27 years.
DEI doesn’t have anything to do with the hiring, misgivings, violations, inappropriate behavior and character or lack thereof of Sheriff Corpus. She could have been of any ethnicity and had the same flaws. Look at our President.
So much to unpack and comment on. Here’s a simple one. When asked why Aenlle is still listed on the Sheriff’s Office website, Corpus replied, “I’ve been a little busy ma’am.” If you search the SO’s website and type in Aenlle; the results is his photo and his long-winded bio. If you type in Monaghan and Hsiung, the results are no photo and no bio. She wasn’t to busy to erase their existence from the website. What does it take to remove an item from the website? A five-second phone call or a one sentence email to the webmaster?
Good point Pacman. A good guess would be that Corpus keeps Aenlle’s name up on the SO website out of spite. Mr Anale was humiliated when he was fired and just can’t let go.
Interesting to learn that the County Executive was already conspiring to replace the new Sheriff six months into her six year term and bending the ear of high profile politicians about it.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Corpus in debt after winning the election? Didn’t she have an entire fundraiser to “kill the debt” or something along those lines. spending 8k seems irresponsible when you’re in debt. Did she buy those earring with the money that was raised?
I’m behind Sherriff Corpus 110%. The corporate bullying has to be called especially in the male dominated corps. It’s disgusting that this keeps happening to the women in the workforce that work hard to compete with their male subordinates only to get knocked down. We have male in high positions that do far worse and never get called on the carpet for it. Sherriff Corpus keep fighting stay strong, don’t let them bully you out of office. I’ve been there and it’s not a fair fight.
She is full of that BS