M. C. Carberry, Former San Francisco Sheriff

Matthew C. Carberry, a four-term sheriff of San Francisco and before that a city supervisor for three years, died Thursday at a San Francisco convalescent home.

He was 74.

Carberry, elected to a city supervisor post in 1953, was appointed sheriff in 1956 by Mayor George Christopher after the death in office of Sheriff Daniel Gallagher.

In 1969 the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Assn. asked for a grand jury investigation of Carberry’s administration of county jails, which they branded “utterly incompetent.

But he was defended by then-Mayor Joseph Alioto, who said that Carberry had overcome an admitted drinking problem.

Carberry was seeking his fifth term when Richard Hongisto defeated him in the 1972 sheriff’s election. Hongisto, a former city policeman, was supported in his campaign by a coalition of younger voters, liberal groups and homosexuals.

Carberry, a native San Franciscan who was considered a throwback to that city’s bawdier days, had conducted a subdued campaign, relying on his record and experience.

Carberry, survived by his wife, Stella, and three children, worked as an accountant after leaving politics.