True Crime
Former 49ers executive James Mercurio is charged in an alleged $1.4 million San Mateo County kickback scheme.
The New York Post reported Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, that James Cunningham Mercurio, 55, and Michael Joseph McLennan, 66, were indicted in an alleged kickback scheme at the San Mateo County Event Center. Each faces bribery, embezzlement, and misappropriation counts. CBS San Francisco spells McLennan as McClennan. They pleaded not guilty Oct. 8. A scheduling hearing is set for Nov. 16.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
These are indictment counts. Commercial bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation, and a forgery count are accusations a jury has not heard. Twenty bribery counts each and CBS San Francisco's figure of 40 are the same lists counted two ways. A $750,000 bond, if Mercurio posted it, is a release condition. It is not a finding that the kickbacks happened. Nov. 16 is a scheduling date.
The New York Post reported Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, that former San Francisco 49ers executive James Cunningham Mercurio, 55, of Vacaville, and Michael Joseph McLennan, 66, of Los Altos, were indicted last week in an alleged kickback scheme at the San Mateo County Event Center. CBS San Francisco spells the second man Michael Joseph McClennan. The San Francisco Chronicle spells him Michael McLennan. The Post and the Chronicle are the McLennan spelling used here. CBS San Francisco, citing District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe's office, reported both men were arrested after a grand jury indictment. An indictment is the accusation.
The Post reported the Event Center hired Mercurio in 2024 to oversee three construction projects, each backed by $1 million in county tax dollars, and that prosecutors say he steered contracts to McLennan, a childhood friend, who returned portions of the payments. The Post reported the alleged kickbacks totaled about $1.4 million. CBS San Francisco reported the county learned of the alleged scheme after a construction company said it was not being paid. The Post reported the inquiry started when McLennan fell behind paying subcontractors and a performance bond a subcontractor asked to inspect was fake, according to authorities. Wagstaffe told the Post, "We're only talking about a year and a half and $1.4 million, but for San Mateo County that's big." A district attorney's description is the state's theory.
The Post, citing the indictment, reported each man is charged with two counts of misappropriating public money, one count of embezzlement, and 20 counts of commercial bribery, and that prosecutors added aggravated white-collar crime allegations tied to a pattern of related felonies and a taking of more than $500,000. The Chronicle, citing court records, reported those same bribery, misappropriation, and embezzlement counts and four aggravated white-collar crime enhancements each. CBS San Francisco described the bribery counts as 40 in total, which matches 20 apiece. The Post reported McLennan also faces a felony forgery count over the allegedly fabricated bond. Bay City News reported both men pleaded not guilty at an Oct. 8 arraignment. The Post reported the same not-guilty pleas. A plea of not guilty is not an acquittal.
CBS San Francisco reported that at a Monday hearing lawyers asked for lower bail, the judge kept it at $750,000, and both men remained in the San Mateo County Jail, with a hearing to set a pretrial conference and a jury-trial date on Nov. 16. The Post, citing court records, reported Mercurio had posted a $750,000 bond. McLennan's attorney, Michael Guingona, told the Post on Tuesday he had not received discovery and was still trying to get his client out of custody. Monday's jail status and Tuesday's bond report are both in the day's stories. Mercurio's attorney, Brian Getz, told Bay City News, "I have every confidence in James Mercurio as a person and as a litigant." The Post reported Mercurio spent nearly 30 years with the 49ers and rose to executive vice president and general manager before a 2023 layoff. The Chronicle reported he was among nearly 30 employees laid off that year and started at the Event Center in 2024. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Shop
Checkout is on Shopify. A few from the rack:
More on the desk
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Baton Rouge police booked Bruce Salisbury on first-degree murder in the beating death of his father, Larry Salisbury.
The first-degree murder count is the accusation filed Tuesday night. The July battery plea is a separate conviction. A protective order, a chase, and a booking do not decide who killed Larry Salisbury. WAFB's booking story said he was found hurt and later died. The Advocate said he was found dead at 6:27 p.m. Both are in Tuesday's reporting.
Read the take
Reporting noted by WAFB, The Advocate, and WBRZ.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
Bal Khadka pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Lila Darjee Khadka.
Tuesday's pleas are not guilty. The second-degree murder count and the three cruelty counts are what the state has to prove. The affidavit's account of a flashlight, a recording, and children in the apartment is the charging narrative. A prior abuse-prevention conviction is a different case. The Oct. 26 hearing is the next date, not a trial.
Read the take
Reporting noted by WPTZ, Seven Days, and Boston Globe.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer
LAPD booked Adolfo Gramajo on a murder charge after his two young sons were shot dead in Pico-Union.
A booking on murder is the accusation. It is not a finding that Adolfo Gramajo killed his sons. The medical examiner's cause-of-death findings, as the New York Post reported them, speak to how Jimmy and Osmani died. They do not decide who pulled the trigger. Motive has not been publicly established. The hospital status and the bail figure are custody facts, not a verdict.
Read the take
Reporting noted by NBC Los Angeles, FOX 11, and New York Post.