Former SMCCCD chancellor found guilty of eight counts, but mistrial declared on 18

REDWOOD CITY — A jury found the former chancellor of the San Mateo County Community College District guilty of eight counts of tax evasion and perjury charges — primarily in relation to actions he took in his personal life and not in his capacity as a public official — and a San Mateo County Superior Court Judge declared a mistrial for an additional 18 charges after the jury could not come to a consensus.

Ronald Galatolo was charged with 27 counts of embezzlement, tax code violations, conflict of interest, perjury and misuse of public funds for actions he allegedly took in both a public and private capacity. He was accused of accepting lavish gifts from contractors — ranging from box seats at sporting events to helicopter trips in the Himalayas — and in exchange redirecting lucrative contracts to their firms. His defense maintained throughout the trial that any gifts were reciprocated, and that he was not involved in the decision of where to grant the contracts.

Jurors on Tuesday returned a guilty verdict on four felony tax evasion counts and four felony perjury counts after eight days of deliberation, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. The jury also found Galatolo not guilty of one count of perjury. They reported that they were deadlocked on the remaining 18 felony charges.

Charles J. Smith III, Galatolo’s defense attorney, confirmed that San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Leland Davis III declared a mistrial on the remaining counts Wednesday morning. It will now be up to San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe whether to take those remaining counts to another trial.

Wagstaffe could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

“(Galatolo) is pleased that the 18 counts that accused him of political corruption in connection with his performance as chancellor, that the DA could not get a unanimous verdict on any of them,” Smith said, adding that the most “guilty” votes on any of the remaining counts was eight out of 12 jurors. “The DA has to look at that and say, ‘Even if we did it again, it’s very unlikely we get 12 people to unanimously agree.’ So (Galatolo) is pleased that the allegations that he misused his position in any way, none of those theories, none of those counts, was he convicted on.”

“We would have preferred, obviously, acquittals, but it’s great that the jury didn’t buy the DA’s theory on those counts. He dedicated 20 years of his life, built magnificent public facilities, and the allegations that he was crooked, or he was steering these to his buddies, that he had a financial interest — the jury just didn’t buy.”

The charges Galatolo was convicted on relate to fraudulent statements made in his 2018 and 2020 tax returns. Two perjury charges relate to incorrectly reporting the purchase price of vehicles to the DMV.

Two of the perjury convictions found that did not report all gifts he received as chancellor on Form 700s. He was also acquitted of one of those charges.

Smith added that he plans to request that some of the counts Galatolo was convicted on be deemed misdemeanors because of the low dollar amount he failed to pay. He added that, in similar cases, judges generally give sentences of probation, jail or the sheriff’s work program.

Galatolo was indicted by a grand jury in 2024 after delays with the preliminary hearings in his case, which is the point in a case when the judge determines whether the evidence is sufficient for the case to proceed to trial. The trial, which began in October, went to the jury for consideration Jan. 7 following a day and a half of closing arguments.

Galatolo served as the district’s chancellor from 2001 to 2019, then as chancellor emeritus for an additional two years. He earned an annual salary of more than $400,000. A 2019 whistleblower complaint prompted the investigation into his actions.

Before the jury headed to its deliberations, the prosecution and defense went head to head in a several-week long trial culiminating in closing arguments that painted two very different pictures of the former chancellor.

Joseph Cannon, deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, argued that Galatolo’s actions — including allegedly failing to disclose recieving gifts, misreporting the value of vehicles he purchased on DMV registation forms and failing to report income from a Maui rental property — formed a “pattern of fraud” aimed at gaining personal benefits. He added that the public expects public officials to have a certain level of integrity because they are trusted with responsibilities including the oversight of public funds.

He also cited Galatolo’s supposed catchphrase: “It’s good to be king.”

Smith presented Galatolo as a dedicated employee whose work had a positive impact on the district and who was being smeared with a “false narrative” complete with “flashy” photos and half-truths. Galatolo cannot be criminally convicted of a lack of ethics or morals, Smith added — the remedy for that would be removing him from his position. And even public officials cannot be convicted on less certain proof than anyone else, he maintained.

The attorneys clashed over the specifics of several of the charges, with Cannon maintaining that Galatolo was required to report any gifts over $50 while Smith argued that most of the gifts he recieved were reciprocated among friends or fell under exceptions in the rules. Where Cannon argued that Galatolo’s receipt of gifts amounted to a financial interest in the firms construction contracts were awarded to, Smith noted that Galatolo had no ownership or stake in any of the companies and did not play a role in allocating the contracts.

Another charge related to an allegation that Galatolo used district funds to pay for his attorney in a contract dispute with the district, breaking the payments up into amounts lower than $10,000 to avoid detection. Smith argued that Galatolo was following a long precendent of the district paying for legal fees.

Galatolo will next appear in court March 6, when it will be decided whether to retry the hung counts.