A former longtime San Francisco 49ers executive and a Los Altos man are charged with siphoning about $1.4 million from county-funded construction projects at the San Mateo County Event Center, and the county says it is taking control of the center's capital projects while it figures out how it happened.
What prosecutors allege
James Mercurio, 55, of Vacaville, was hired by the Event Center in 2024 as a construction project manager to oversee three projects, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said. The center, at the county fairgrounds in San Mateo, hosts the San Mateo County Fair and other large events. Two of those projects, the Bay Stay RV program and new bathrooms at Cyprus Hall, each received $1 million from the county, County Executive Mike Callagy told the San Mateo Daily Journal.
Prosecutors say Mercurio steered the contracts to a childhood friend, Michael Joseph McLennan, 66, of Los Altos, who then passed part of the money back to him. The total taken from the two county-subsidized projects comes to about $1.4 million, according to the DA's office. (The Daily Journal spells his name McClennan.)
The alleged scheme came to light when one of the construction companies working on the projects told the county it was not getting paid, prosecutors said, according to Bay City News. A grand jury heard about two weeks of evidence before indicting both men, who were then arrested.
The charges
Court documents show each man charged with 20 counts of commercial burglary, Bay City News reported. District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the Daily Journal that Mercurio faces 40 counts of commercial bribery along with embezzlement, forgery and theft of government funds, and that McLennan faces similar charges, including 19 counts of commercial bribery. Wagstaffe said each could face up to about 20 years in prison if convicted.
Both pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Thursday, Oct. 8, and remain in custody on $750,000 bail each. They are scheduled to return to court Monday, Oct. 12, to set pretrial dates, and the judge is also expected to hear defense requests to lower bail.
Mercurio spent nearly 30 years as a 49ers executive before he was laid off in 2023. His attorney, Brian Getz, said he is confident Mercurio is innocent. "He's never been convicted on any crime," Getz told Bay City News, describing him as a father and grandfather who lived almost his whole life in San Mateo County. McLennan's attorney did not respond to Bay City News. The charges are allegations, and both men are presumed innocent.
The county steps in
Callagy said the county is opening its own financial investigation and will run Event Center capital projects itself for the foreseeable future. "Whenever somebody takes public funds, it's a very, very serious situation," he told the Daily Journal, adding that he wants to know how the two men were hired and what processes were used.
An Event Center spokesperson said its board and staff were "shocked and disappointed" by the charges against the two former outside contractors and are cooperating with the DA. As of Saturday, the county had not said whether any of the money has been recovered or released any audit findings, Hoodline reported.