San Mateo County supervisors call for sheriff to resign after union president arrested
Nov 12, 2024
(KRON) -- The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has called for County Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign amid allegations of a toxic work environment at the sheriff's office. Corpus recently arrested Deputy Carlos Tapia, who is the president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff's Association.
Corpus said Tuesday that she will not be resigning and all allegations against her are false.
Corpus' relationship with her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle, is at the root of the calls for her to resign.
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Judge LaDoris Cordell completed an independent review of the sheriff's office and published a 408-page report on Tuesday. She concluded that Corpus and Aenlle have "an intimate relationship," among a litany of allegations about Corpus and Aenlle that she believes to be true.
The report contains five pages of incidents between Aenlle and Corpus that portray them having an intimate relationship. Aenlle allegedly spent thousands on clothing and jewelry for Corpus and was seen kissing her.
After Corpus was elected sheriff in 2022, she worked to get Aenlle employed by the office full-time and subsequently made "repeated" attempts to increase his pay, according to the report. Aenlle described his relationship with Corpus as "professional" when asked by Cordell.
Cordell claims Corpus has handed control of the office to Aenlle due to their personal relationship. Deputies have accused Aenlle of creating a toxic work environment and union busting.
Cordell described Aenlle as "someone who has far more experience as a Coldwell Banker associate real estate broker than he has in law enforcement."
Furthermore, Corpus used homophobic and racial slurs while communicating with other employees, including the "n word," Cordell's report states. Corpus was not interviewed for the report as she did not respond to Cordell's inquiry.
“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration. Corpus should step down and Victor Aenlle’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office should be terminated immediately. Nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil, and its personnel demoralized,” Cordell said.
At a press conference Tuesday, the board of supervisors identified Tapia as one of the first people to speak up about Aenlle's alleged abuse of power. Corpus had already been accused of retaliation and intimidation after she fired Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan.
The board of supervisors will have a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss potential action.