Former County Supe Indicted on Impersonation Charge

—By Bay City News Service

Former Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa has been indicted by a criminal grand jury on one felony count of false impersonation, prosecutors announced Monday.

Shirakawa was arraigned on the charge Monday afternoon, and will return to court on Dec. 4, according to the district attorney's office. 

The indictment supersedes the previous criminal complaint against Shirakawa, which consisted of the same charge. Shirakawa, 51, resigned in March after pleading guilty to five felony and seven misdemeanor charges related to inaccuracies in government finance and campaign reports. 

He has not yet been sentenced for those crimes because his lawyers have still been fighting the impersonation charge, which stemmed from a phony mailer prosecutors say Shirakawa fabricated to discredit a San Jose City Council candidate in 2010. 

The candidate, Magdalena Carrasco, was running against Xavier Campos, Shirakawa's former aide, to represent San Jose's District 5. Campos was elected and still holds the seat.

The indictment alleges that Shirakawa impersonated a campaign committee titled "Neighbors for Magdalena Carrasco for Council 2010," prosecutors said. 

The transcript of the hearing of the grand jury that indicted Shirakawa will remain sealed until 10 days from today. 

Shirakawa has requested to be represented by the public defender's office, claiming he cannot afford to pay for his own attorney. 

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