DNA leads to indictment of former Santa Clara County supervisor
A criminal grand jury this week indicted a former Santa Clara County supervisor for false personation after he allegedly fabricated campaign mailers to discredit a San Jose City Council candidate.
George Shirakawa was indicted Monday for one felony count of false personation. The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office said the false personation occurred roughly between May 1 and June 8, 2010, when he “falsely personated the campaign committee entitled ‘Neighbors for Magdalena Carrasco for Council 2010.’ ”
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Shirakawa, 51, was arrested for false personation in June, but that case was quickly mired in legal maneuvers and his pending sentencing on other charges from another case.
The alleged fabrication involved sending fliers out tying Carrasco, who was running against Shirakawa’s former aide, to communism in a community with a large Vietnamese population, local media reported. The aide ended up winning the election.
Prosecutors say they have DNA evidence tying Shirakawa to the illegal campaign fliers.
Shirakawa resigned in March after pleading guilty to charges related to stealing public funds and deceiving campaign donors. He attributed the crimes to depression and a gambling addiction, the Mercury News reported.
Shirakawa is scheduled for sentencing in the original crimes Nov. 8.
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