San Mateo County plans to manage Event Center capital projects directly for the foreseeable future while it reviews two county-subsidized projects at the center. County Executive Mike Callagy told the San Mateo Daily Journal the county intends to examine how the alleged kickback arrangement occurred and how those involved were hired.
The shift raises a project-oversight question, but the county’s public description of the Event Center board does not answer it. The county board listing says directors set policy for the center’s management and daily operations, including maintenance of buildings and grounds. It does not describe a separate approval or review process for capital projects funded by the county; that omission alone does not establish whether other controls exist.
The two projects received about $2 million in county funding combined, according to the Daily Journal. Prosecutors allege roughly $1.4 million was diverted through kickbacks. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said former Event Center construction project manager James Mercurio oversaw three projects and directed contracts to Joseph McClennan, described as a childhood friend; prosecutors allege Mercurio received kickbacks tied to the two subsidized projects.
The two men have pleaded not guilty. Wagstaffe said Mercurio faces charges including commercial bribery, embezzlement, forgery and theft of government funds, while McClennan faces similar charges, including commercial bribery, as reported by the Daily Journal. The allegations have not been established in court.
A separate Bay Area case offers context, not a connection
Public-sector kickback cases have also been prosecuted elsewhere in the Bay Area, but the cases should not be conflated. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that former San Francisco Public Works director Mohammed Nuru was sentenced to seven years in federal prison on Aug. 25, 2022, in a separate, long-running bribery and kickback scheme. That San Francisco case does not establish a connection to the San Mateo allegations or show a regional trend.
San Mateo County says it will conduct a complete audit of Event Center projects using its own investigators. The center’s spokesperson said its board and staff were cooperating with the District Attorney’s ongoing investigation, according to the Daily Journal. No completed audit or accounting explaining the alleged $1.4 million figure has been released. The county has not said whether funds have been recovered, or provided a timeline or budget for the planned project-management transition.
