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.
On January 14, 2022 I published my first article about the More than $10M of PPE that was left outside unprotected at the San Mateo County Event Center I included a link to ABC7 News I-Team Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes excellent coverage and Breaking Story that included Interviews with Mike Callagy and Supervisor David Canepa who were quick to call this a Mistake. I said “This was not a Mistake”
A reasonable person might ask what would make me say that?
It’s really quite simple, I have been reporting on Organized Crime, Corruption, Money Laundering, Embezzlement in San Mateo County Government and the Courts for 22 years.
Again I say Thank You, Dan Noyes for bringing this very Important story to the San Mateo County Residents.
I was the first reporter to report that San Mateo County Risk Manager Scott Johnson had declared on NOVEMBER 10, 2022 that he had personally inspected the PPE outside the SMCEC and in his opinion it was a TOTAL LOSS. That is 64 days before Mike Callagy and David Canepa said it was a MISTAKE.
September 27, 2021 e-mail informing San Mateo County Government that the PPE is now OUTSIDE. That is 108 days before Mike Callagy and David Canepa said it was a MISTAKE.
From: Steve Perich sperich@smcec.co Sent: Monday, September 27, 2021 3:49 PM To: Iliana Rodriguez IRodriguez@smcgov.orgCc: Dana Stoehr dstoehr@smcec.co; Avinesh Pal apal@smcec.co Subject: PPE Update Hi Iliana, As you probably are aware, all PPE has been moved out of Fiesta Hall and is currently stored in a fenced area between Gates 9 & 10. The Red Cross was only able to take the 10 adjustable hospital beds (MASH type). Their storage area was not large enough to accommodate the remaining five bariatric beds nor the five “home style” hospital beds, all of which are in the outdoor storage area. The plan is to move as much as possible into Sequoia Hall after the SaaStr Conference, to protect it from the elements. The would require the County to rent Sequoia Hall as it would be filled with PPE. The following items would be relocated first. If any space remains, we will move the most useful of the remaining into Sequoia. Masks Gloves Beds All remaining FMS items and empty containers Bleach
Please let me know if you are in agreement with the above.
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
Deleting government emails too quickly is not OK A fundamental principle of a free and open society is that citizens have a right to know what’s going on inside their government. A crucial way Californians exercise this right is with the state’s Public Records Act , which allows people to see email correspondence, contracts and other documents held by local and state officials. It’s how, early in the pandemic, journalists were able to reveal the details of California’s scramble to obtain medical masks, including the collapse of a nearly $800-million deal with a politically connected vendor and the decision to secretly wire nearly half a billion dollars to a company that had been in business for just three days — only to quickly call off the deal and claw back the money. Emails obtained under the law allowed The Times and environmental activists to expose how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration worked to influence decisions in favor of a controversial water desalination plant. And documents The Times obtained under the law showed that the state parks department let some employees live at government-owned homes in some of California’s most scenic locales for cut-rate rents averaging $215 a month. The law is clear that state agencies must, with some exceptions, release records in their possession. But what’s not clear is how long they must hang onto those documents. And this is critical, because the government can effectively hide records it doesn’t want the public to see by destroying or deleting them before anyone asks for them. Nothing to see here! Literally. Legislation moving through the Capitol addresses the issue by requiring that all state agencies retain digital and paper records for at least two years. State law already requires that local governments do this, but state agencies have been allowed to decide for themselves how long to hang onto different kinds of records, and the range is huge. Just within the California Environmental Protection Agency, for example, retention timelines vary from 90 days for informal emails, to a decade for documents related to environmental justice investigations of birth defects, to permanent storage of correspondence with tribal governments. Recently, when the Department of Insurance announced plans to start deleting emails after 180 days, an employee complained that they needed access to older emails to keep track of past communications in enforcement cases. The department, already facing litigation for not releasing detailed calendars requested under the Public Records Act, backtracked on the plan to speed up email deletion. Assembly Bill 2370 would make clear that all state records, including email, must be retained for at least two years. Its author, Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-Greenbrae), is running for insurance commissioner this year with a campaign echoing the same concerns raised by Consumer Watchdog, the group that sued current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara for calendars detailing his appointments with industry executives who contributed to his campaign. So this bill clearly has some political overtones. But that does not negate the fact that it would advance government transparency and serve the public interest. We urge the Legislature to continue advancing the bill. Similar legislation passed in 2019 but was vetoed by Newsom, who said it would be too costly to store data and hire the necessary personnel to manage retaining records. The Legislature’s price tag on that bill was vague, saying that “state costs could reach into the millions of dollars.” Lawmakers ought to do a more thorough cost analysis this time around, including taking into account advances in technology that are continually reducing the cost of data storage. And then weigh that against the moral penalty for keeping the public in the dark.
San Mateo County Government E-mails should be preserved Not Deleted.
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.