The 760,000 residents of San Mateo County might have first starting hearing about the more than $10M of PPE and the Convoy of Garbage Trucks filled with PPE leaving the San Mateo County Event Center in November or December of 2021. The Breaking News Story was brought to you by ABC7 News Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes on January 13, 2022 it aired at 6:12 PM.
The simple question I have had since first hearing about this PPE Scandal is, How is Mike Callagy still employed by the FIVE Supervisors of San Mateo County. Why was he not placed on Administrative Leave on January 13, 2022?
Notice the DATE of this e-mail, it is BEFORE Mike Callagy had any knowledge according to what he told Dan Noyes.
From: Michael Callagy <MCallagy@smcgov.org> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2022 9:58 PM To: Peggy Jensen; Scott Johnson; Michelle Durand; John Nibbelin; Roberto Manchia; Justin Mates; Daniel Belville; lliana Rodriguez
Subject: Re: PPE loss documentation
Peggy yes you are correct as that is the approach | was going to take on the purchase. | think Dana and her staff will start the clean up tomorrow as it appears it is all individually packaged. It will need to be wiped down, but every package | opened was dry on the inside. The process of getting it indoors will take through Friday. There is a ton there. It would be great if we got a definitive answer from the VA on their desire to take lots of the PPE. Almost all of the gowns expire May 2, 2022. The approach I’m taking is this is surplus, (goggles, buckets, face shields, odd sized gowns, bleach) not hospital grade that we moved outside as we were trying to give it away. We made a mistake not moving it back inside, but with all that was going on with our focus on boosters and then Omicron and testing, it got lost in the process. We appreciate it being called to our attention and we are looking for a home for the items. Our medical grade gloves, gowns, mask, etc. are secured and occupying almost 7000 sq feet of space. We have distributed a great deal of PPE to local medical facilities (| will need to know where) and have enough PPE to last several years.
This e-mail was sent 14 minutes before the Board of Supervisors Meeting on January 25, 2022. Alex Tourk is the Owner of a Public Relations Firm and his monthly fee has been reported to be $15,000 per month. SMC County Manager Mike Callagy hired him, Did he need the Supervisors permission for that hire, or is he paying for Mr. Tourk’s services out of his own pocket.
From: Alex Tourk <tourk@gfpublicaffairs.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 8:46 AM PST To: Michelle Durand <mdurand@smcgov.org> CC: Michael Callagy <MCallagy@smcgov.org>; John Beiers <jbeiers@smcgov.org>; John Nibbelin <jnibbelin@smcgov.org>
Subject: Re: Heads up for BoS mtg
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of San Mateo County. Unless you recognize the sender’s email address and know the content is
safe, do not click links, open attachments or reply.
I would give Don a heads up just in case they get out of line and he can keep order.
The above e-mail is in response to the below e-mail sent 2 minutes earlier by Michelle Durand. WCM stands for a 501C called the Wine Country Marines of Sonoma, California. The President of WCM is James Brown who is also the CEO of West Coast Security, San Carlos, California.
On Tue, Jan 25, 2022 at 8:44 AM Michelle Durand <mdurand@smcgov.org> wrote:
Good morning all
Just spoke with the WCM president who said ABC7 plans to join the meeting via Zoom bc they received a call from Brent Turner who said he plans to attend and question the decision to work with his organization. In James words, Brent said he wanted to “cause a ruckus.” I told him Brent is not unfamiliar to the Board and staff.
So based on these two e-mails 2 minutes apart we can see the Michelle Durand had a conversation with James Brown the President of Wine Country Marines about ABC7 attending by ZOOM the BOS meeting that starts in 16 minutes. Wouldn’t all Governments want the Public’s Business to be viewed by the Public and wouldn’t they welcome the News Industry and Reporters to attend.
Think about that for a moment, it’s a San Mateo County Government Public Meeting on Zoom.
Who was Alex Tourk concerned about getting out of line?
There was only one Supervisor that even bothered to ask any questions and that was David Canepa. Don Horsley quickly jumped all over him.
At the 330:35 mark Supervisor/Candidate for Congress David Canepa asks this question, “There is some PPE that has gone unaccounted for right? That was a great great question, it’s too bad he didn’t wait for Mike Callagy to answer it. ABC7 Investigative reporter Dans Noyes who broke this story on January 13, 2022 reported a “CONVOY of garbage trucks filled up with brand new PPE” in the previous 2 months that would have been November-December of 2021.
At the 3:33:00 you can hear Don Horsley the President of the Board of Supervisors interrupting Supervisor David Canepa’s question. Did Don think David was getting out of line?
The San Mateo County PPE Scandal continues to grow as is always the case when the simple facts are lied about. It’s always the Coverup that becomes the story.
San Mateo County Government doesn’t want a citizen/resident, or employee asking any pesky questions like, How did you choose the Wine Country Marines of Sonoma California to distribute the more than $10M of PPE on January 25, 2022? How many other 501C’s from San Mateo County did you consider?
Yesterday April 19, 2022 at the Board of Supervisor Meeting Agenda Item 12 was titled Surplus Safety Equipment, This item was put on the Agenda at the request of Supervisor Canepa at the last meeting.
None of the remaining Supervisors had any questions about the Deliberate well planned moving of $10M of PPE purchased with FEMA monies from the secured location at the San Mateo County Event Center in September 2021.
Through Supervisor Canepa’s skilled questioning technique he was able to get answers to these questions.
Possible liability of San Mateo County having to Refund the $10,000,000.00 to the Federal Government.
The monthly expense of $23,000 per month now for the storage of the PPE in 5 locations.
Mike Callagy is thinking of Building a Wharehouse to store the FEMA funded PPE.
The Dr. Jim Lianides/Mike Callagy/Staff and possibly other word crafters “Progress Report” which was supposed to be an “Independent Investigation.”
San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy said at the 2:58:25 mark “I think there was things in the Report that were Inaccurate that need to be Cleaned Up.” “That those changes did take place.”
That means that That Mike Callagy and his TEAM word crated the Dr. Jim Lianides Report. All FIVE San Mateo County Supervisors were cool with that.
Photo from Scott Johnson’s letter November 10, 2021
This was two months before San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said He didn’t know anything about it. Thank goodness Scott Johnson was wrong or was he?
November 10, 2021 To: Kim An Le, Finance Section Chief From: Scott Johnson Logistics Section Chief Risk Manager, County of San Mateo RE: Inspection of Damaged PPE at event center I have examined the store of PPE that was stored at the Event Center. My understanding of the timeline based on interviews with the staff is as follows. The PPE was stored in an indoor facility. The staff was directed to move the PPE to a fenced area outside to accommodate an event that was to occur at the event center. The PPE was stored without incident using tarps, elevated pallets and plastic wraps. Unfortunately, a rain event called ? River occurred on a few days between October 21st and October 25th with intensity not anticipated. The Bay Area experience up to 10 inches of rain in one day. It was the most rain recorded in the month of October in 173 years of record keeping. At one point it rained for 34 straight hours. Winds averaged 25 mph during the event but gusted as high as 60+ mph. While the PPE had been protected, the protection was easily overcome by wind and rain. There was no time or place to move the substantial amount of PPE to a different location. I have attached photos and an inventory, but in my professional opinion, it is a total loss. I question the efficacy of PPE meant to keep people safe from Covid-19 given the damage. It is simply not worth the risk to human life. Should you have any questions, please let me know. I can be reached at extension 4387.
Some follow up questions for Scott Johnson what method did you use to come to the conclusion on NOVEMBER 10, 2021 that all of the PPE that was moved out of San Mateo County Event Center by September 27, 2021 according to Steve Perich of the SMCEC Staff. What are the names of the Staff members that you interviewed per your letter. Where is the Inventory list of all the PPE that you declared a Total Loss?
The obvious question is How did San Mateo County Government Officials go from a “Total Loss” to “We didn’t know anything about it until ABC7 Dan Noyes broke the story on January 13, 2022” To 98% of the PPE is Useable and Undamaged and the Wine Country Marines of Sonoma per President James Brown will be Distributing all of it on January 25, 2022 to whoever he determines is a qualified organization.
San Mateo County News.com is also requesting the Partnership Agreement mentioned above.
January 12, 2022 San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management DEM Director Daniel Belville who works directly for Mike Callagy communicated with James Brown President of Wine Country Marines out of Sonoma. The next day January 13, 2022 at 6:00 PM the WCM posted on their Facebook page:
WINECOUNTRYMARINES.ORG Large Donation of PPE The Wine Country Marines are excited to announce a partnership with the San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management. Specifically, the County DEM has graciously donated to the Wine Country Marines a very large supply of excess inventory of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that they were p…
PPE Donation to Community Organizations Time & Location Jan 25, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM San Mateo, California
On January 17, 2022 I requested a copy of the Document for Donation of $10M PPE to Wine Country Marines James Brown.
From: Michael Stogner michaelgstogner@yahoo.com Date: Monday, January 17, 2022 at 10:55 AM To: Michelle Durand mdurand@smcgov.org Subject: Document for Donation of $10M PPE to Wine Country Marines James Brown CAUTION: This email originated from outside of San Mateo County. Unless you recognize the sender’s email address and know the content is safe, do not click links, open attachments or reply.
Hello Michelle, I hope things are going well for you. Could you please send me a copy of the Donation agreement to Wine County Marines, James Brown mentioned on his Facebook page January 13, 2022 6:00 PM The Wine Country Marines are excited to announce a partnership with the San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management. Specifically, the County DEM has graciously donated to the Wine Country Marines a very large supply of excess inventory of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that they were provided by FEMA, to be shared with the community at large.
Thank You, Stay Safe Michael G. Stogner San Mateo County News.com
Caiti Busch <cbusch@smcgov.org>
To: Michael Stogner
Cc: Jennifer Stalzer
Thu, Apr 14 at 5:02 PM
Mr. Stogner,
There was no written agreement between the County and Wine Country Marines that predates the January 27, 2022 agreement I produced to you. There was no written agreement prior to January 13, 2022 at 6PM, and there is no separate Financial Agreement. Because Mr. Brown is not a County employee, I cannot know what he meant in his blog post, but as far as we are aware, he was not referring to a written record.
The reason I asked for this document is simple, every time someone gives me more than $10,000,000 of something I like to have some kind written verification, proof, evidence etc that I in fact do have the authority to distribute this PPE which was paid for with FEMA money.
It took San Mateo County Government 90 days to say the truth.
There was no written agreement between the County and Wine Country Marines on or before January 13, 2022.
April 5, 2022 Board of Supervisor Meeting, Supervisor Canepa asked President of the Board Don Horsley to place the Dr. Jim Lianides PPE “Independent Investigation” or “Progress Report” depending on who you talk to on a future Agenda of a regular meeting or a Special Meeting so that the Public would have the opportunity to discuss it. President Don Horsley approved that request.
Not one of the other 4 Supervisors had a comment about Dr. Jim Lianides 12 pages of words.
This e-mail explains alot, No wonder the pages Dr. Liaindes provided doesn’t look anything like an Independent Investigation, He wasn’t hired to do one. it’s that Simple.
Subject: Process Review Dear Colleagues, | retained the services of Jim Lianides, retired Superintendant of the Sequoia School District, to do a process review in regard to the storage and handling of PPE at the Event Center.
Best regards, Mike Mike Callagy (he/him)* County Manager Attorney Client Privilege Attorney Client Privilege County of San Mateo | 400 County Center, f* floor, Redwood City, CA 94063 650-363-4129mcallagy@smcgov.orgwww.smcgov.org
Notice none of the 5 Supervisors were included in the above e-mail.
San Mateo County Executive Officer Mike Callagy is an at-will employee who works directly for the 5 San Mateo County Supervisors.
More questions every day about the more than $10,000,000 of PPE at the San Mateo County Event Center.
Thanks to ABC 7 News Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes on his January 13, 2022 report of San Mateo County Government moving and leaving more than $10,000,000.00 of PPE outside and unprotected at the San Mateo County Event Center. He also reported the Convoy of Garbage Trucks full of PPE that left the site in the previous two months.
In his first report of several, Dan Noyes Interviewed Mike Callagy and Supervisor David Canepa a Candidate for Congress. They both stated They had No Knowledge of this. They both were quick to call it a MISTAKE, and launch an Independent Investigation to assure the public this would never happen again. Isn’t that nice.
The Question I have for San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy and ALL FIVE County Supervisors is, How is that possible?
A New Name for an Expanding Mission: Department of Emergency Management
“Frequency and complexity” of emergencies prompts change
San Mateo County President of Supervisors Don HorsleySMC Supervisor David Canepa
I have personally seen this several times going back to when he was on the Sequoia Healthcare District Board with Jack Hickey. He simply is unable to control his childish outbursts. As soon as Mr. Hickey started to speak about a topic Don Horsley wanted to control, He would interrupt him.
He did it again, this time to Supervisor David Canepa. Watch the ABC 7 Video below at the 2:06 mark
Yesterday the Board of Supervisors were having the regular scheduled meeting and Item 5 was an update on the more than $10,000,000.00 of PPE (according to Dan Noyes Investigative Journalist who first broke the story on Jan 13, 2022).
This is the same PPE that President Don Horsley said “Remember it’s just a bunch of Buckets and Mops” he made that statement at the January 25, 2022 BOS Meeting Item #12. Why would SMC Government order so many Buckets/Mops and Bleach in the First Place, and why wasn’t it used by the Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in SMC by now?
Supervisor Warren SlocumSupervisor Dave PineSMC Supervisor David Canepa
$23.5 Million is an update, I’ll give you that. 1:37:18 mark
Agenda Item #5 Update on Event Center Surplus Safety Equipment
This was the title for Agenda Item 5 of the March 22, 2022 Board of Supervisors Meeting. That might explain why there was only ONE public comment on this topic.
The person that put this on the Agenda was San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy, with the approval of County Counsel.
I would say this was more of a regurgitation of the same story that Mr. Callagy has been promoting since January 13, 2022, when he told ABC 7 I-Team Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes that he knew nothing about it.
In San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy’s Presentation he fails to mention these three, that I reported on the day before in the above article.
Deputy County Manager Iliana Rodriguez, San Mateo County Chief Financial Officer Roberto Manchia, Department of Emergency Management Director Daniel Belville.
County Manager to the Board of Supervisors March 22, 2022 “I think the Important thing is that we are TRANSPARENT. We own up to it, and we learn from it”
I personally think the Important thing is tell the truth from the Get Go.
Let me give a simple example, On January 13, 2022 SMC County Manager Mike Callagy never mentions James Brown or the Wine Country Marines a 501-C in Sonoma. He did say “We brought in the Marines.”
He doesn’t mention Iliana Rodriquez of his office has been vetting James Brown and WCM since December 2021.
Mike Callagy, Don Horsley, David Canepa, Carole Groom, Warren Slocom and Dave Pine. You are NOT TRANSPARENT.
Red Flag 1:39:00 mark, “The other goods were eventually moved outside for temporary storage and were regrettably ah remained there during the significant storms last fall LEADING TO THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION.” What do you know about this Independent Investigation so far? What is the scope of this Investigation? Is the Investigation about the significant storms? Why was there an update without having this Investigator make a presentation at the BOS meeting?
Red Flag 1:39:11 mark, “We’ve been lucky enough throughout this AFTER ACTION to really partner with Wine Country Marines to continue to work on distributing these surplus equipment. Everybody knows what an AFTER ACTION is, Right?
The residents of San Mateo County remember what the Foster City Gang of 3 did to their City Manager.
Foster City Manager Peter Prinejad was FIRED for ZERO reason. The residents of Los Altos Hills are the winners in that case they now have a Great City Manager.
This is a work in progress, more questions remain.
As it turns out Several San Mateo County Employees knew a lot about that PPE product.
Here are three who knew according to San Mateo County Counsel.
Deputy County Manager Iliana Rodriguez, San Mateo County Chief Financial Officer Roberto Manchia, Department of Emergency Management Director Daniel Belville.
“County Manager Mike Callagy was not involved in these discussions and did not authorize the distribution of equipment to or through Wine Country Marines on or before January 13, 2022, and he did not have contact with Mr. Brown or Wine Country Marines on or before that date.”
“San Mateo County was looking to Donate the More than $10M of PPE Prior to September 2021“
This took a little while to get this information from San Mateo County Government. As you will remember on January 13, 2022 at 6:12 PM, ABC News Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes broke the story to the residents of San Mateo County. What we learned from Interviews with County Manager Mike Callagy and Candidate for Congress and former President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors David Canepa, Neither of those two gentleman and the rest of the Board of Supervisors had a clue about the more than $10M of product. They didn’t know it was moved, wet, or about to be DONATED by the Wine Country Marines on January 25, 2022.
In December 2021, a MassVax employee working at the Event Center suggested to Deputy County Manager Iliana Rodriguez that Wine Country Marines, a non-profit organization, might be a potential recipient organization. Ms. Rodriguez thereafter began vetting Wine Country Marines to determine whether it would be an appropriate recipient.
Question? How many other 501-C’s were vetted?
California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES)
On January 12, 2022, Mr. Belville spoke to representatives from CalOES, who approved donations to non-profit organizations. Question did they approve THIS donation?
January 12, 2022 Mr. Belville spoke to James Brown of Wine Country Marines, who agreed to help donate and distribute the equipment and PPE to organizations in need.
You might be asking, When was San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management created? The answer is December 6, 2021 by San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy.
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 12:46:45 PM PDT, Caiti Busch <cbusch@smcgov.org> wrote:
Mr. Stogner,
We’ve looked into your request, and, after reasonable inquiry, here are the facts: Prior to September 2021, when certain safety equipment stored at the San Mateo County Event Center was moved outdoors, the County was looking to donate surplus safety equipment and PPE stored there, including equipment and PPE that was never moved outside.
As part of this process, the County was vetting potential organizations to whom it might donate the supplies. In December 2021, a MassVax employee working at the Event Center suggested to Deputy County Manager Iliana Rodriguez that Wine Country Marines, a non-profit organization, might be a potential recipient organization. Ms. Rodriguez thereafter began vetting Wine Country Marines to determine whether it would be an appropriate recipient.
In early January 2022, San Mateo County Chief Financial Officer Roberto Manchia directed Department of Emergency Management Director Daniel Belville to confirm with the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) that supplies could be donated to non-profit organizations. On January 12, 2022, Mr. Belville spoke to representatives from CalOES, who approved donations to non-profit organizations.
That same day, Mr. Belville spoke to James Brown of Wine Country Marines, who agreed to help donate and distribute the equipment and PPE to organizations in need. On January 13, 2022, this arrangement was confirmed, and Mr. Brown posted as much on his blog. No PPE or safety equipment was given to Mr. Brown or Wine Country Marines prior to January 13, 2022. We are also not aware of any County employees who communicated with Mr. Brown or Wine Country Marines prior to Mr. Belville’s discussion with Mr. Brown on January 12, 2022; as far as we know, the only person related to the County who spoke with Mr. Brown before this date about this issue was the MassVax employee who originally suggested Wine Country Marines to Ms. Rodriguez.
County Manager Mike Callagy was not involved in these discussions and did not authorize the distribution of equipment to or through Wine Country Marines on or before January 13, 2022, and he did not have contact with Mr. Brown or Wine Country Marines on or before that date.
We will continue to investigate your records request, and, as indicated in my March 11, 2022 email, I will provide an update on or before March 24, 2022.
San Mateo County News 