Palo Alto engineering firm denies Bay Area college district’s “pay-to-play” allegations, threatens suit

The CEO of a Palo Alto-based firm is pushing back on allegations that his company lavished San Mateo Community College District officials with gifts and trips in exchange for a lucrative contract, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the district’s governing board.

Karim Allana wrote that the college district’s allegations contained in a lawsuit filed in February against his company, Allana, Buick & Bers, Inc. are “flung wildly and recklessly” and have put his business at risk.

Allana’s firm is one of five contractors and consultants the San Mateo Community College District sued on Feb. 8 as part of its ongoing corruption crackdown. The complaint filed in San Mateo County Superior Court seeks damages from the companies as well as Ron Galatolo, the district’s disgraced chancellor who was charged with misappropriating public funds and tax evasion in 2022 following a corruption probe by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office.

The suit alleges Galatolo accepted gifts and benefits from executives, including Allana, and in exchange helped steer contracts funded through voter-approved bond measures to the firms named in the lawsuit. It claims Allana and AB&B gave thousands of dollars worth of gifts to Galatolo in exchange for a contract to build a solar farm at Cañada College in 2013, which a corruption probe by the DA’s office contends was rife with financial abuse.

Allana also allegedly lavished Galatolo’s co-conspiratory – former Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning and Operations Jose Nuñez – with gifts, including sporting event tickets and expensive meals in order to get the solar contract.

But in a letter sent Tuesday to the Board of Trustees, Allana calls the district’s allegations “outlandish” and “deeply concerning,” arguing that it’s the result of “one Trustee’s political vendetta, rather than a result of any impropriety.”

“Not once, not ever, not with this Community College District nor any other public or private entity. Any suggestion otherwise is malicious and defamatory and we will take legal action accordingly,” Allana said. “Ultimately, ABB never sought, or to its knowledge, received any special treatment or consideration. SMCCCD has never received less than full value for the fees paid to ABB and has suffered no economic loss as a result of its contracts with ABB.”

Allana argues the district’s suit ignores key facts, including that he received “more in value from Mr. Galatolo than he received from myself or ABB,” the letter says. The district references miles that were given to Galatolo to travel, but “fails to mention that Mr. Galatolo reciprocated by paying for my hotel and another stay, either which were of greater value.” Galatolo also allowed Allana to use his boat in Lake Tahoe on multiple occasions, which says is a value “that significantly exceeds any alleged benefit he ever received from me.”

“These reciprocal exchanges demonstrate the absence of any net transfer of value from ABB or myself to Mr. Galatolo that could be considered a gift–let alone pay to play,” the letter says. “The allegations contained in this lawsuit are designed to be salacious and grab headlines, but they will not survive even a modicum of scrutiny.”

As a result, Allana is asking a county judge to strike allegations made against ABB, arguing that the firm’s work with the district “predates my personal relationship with Ron Galatolo or Jose Nuñez by over 10 years.”

“As stewards of the District’s limited taxpayer resources, the Trustees have a duty to not only ensure this lawsuit does not end up being a waste of time and significant public funds, but that public money is not being used for one Trustee’s political purposes,” the letter says.

The district’s complaint says that ABB submitted a bid package for the 2013 solar project for $4.9 million but was allegedly allowed to correct it to $4.5 million after the deadline to outbid its competitor, evidenced by an email sent there days later. Years later the project’s final cost ballooned back to $4.9 million.

Allana says “contracts and change orders between ABB and the (district) were approved by the (district) Board of Trustees, and not by Mr. Galatolo nor Mr. Nuñez” and that Galatolo “did not have the authority to give us these contracts as that authority solely rests with the Board of Trustees.”

The district’s suit also mentions Allana asked Galatolo to tap into his political relationships to get Congresswoman Jackie Speier to officiate his wedding. Allana says “even if that allegations were accurate, it is completely irrelevant to the underlying allegations in the District’s claim.”

In reality, Mr. Galatolo offered, unprompted, to ask the Congresswoman to preside over the union and she graciously accepted, the letter says.

The district’s suit also names Allana’s brother and nephew, one of who is a recruiter of foreign students at the district and another who is an accountant for the district. Allana says the district names them “for no other plausible purpose than to bully and harass.”

“There is no legal basis to attack my wedding or name my family members in a lawsuit against my firm,” Allana says in his letter. “This is a Community College District, not the Godfather, and public resources should not be spent fulfilling one Trustee’s personal and political retribution.”

Allana says ABB “does not wish to be engaged in litigation with a longtime client with whom we have accomplished so much” and said the district’s lawsuit is “destined to fail for the same reason the District Attorney, after myriad of interviews and an investigation spanning many years, did not choose to pursue a criminal action against me or my firm.”