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Uploaded: Friday, March 1, 2013, 12:23 PM
County Supervisor Shirakawa resigns
George Shirakawa says he will plead guilty to felony charges filed by DA
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Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa today announced his resignation after he was charged with a dozen felony and misdemeanor counts including perjury and misuse of public funds.
Shirakawa was charged Thursday with four felony counts of perjury, felony misuse of public funds and seven misdemeanors related to campaign finance violations.
The supervisor said he plans to plead guilty on March 18 to the charges, citing depression and a gambling addiction for his actions.
A criminal complaint filed in court by Santa Clara County prosecutors states that in his school board and supervisor campaigns, Shirakawa did not account for tens of thousands of dollars in expenditures he made at casinos.
"Unfortunately, my gambling addiction went untreated for too long which led to bad decisions and actions that I deeply regret. I have been in ongoing medical treatment for my addiction and depression," Shirakawa said in the statement announcing his resignation.
"Addictive behavior is not an excuse for my conduct, there is only one person responsible for my conduct and that person is me," he said.
Among the misdemeanor charges are allegations that Shirakawa failed to file timely semi-annual financial statements and received cash contributions of more than $100.
"I will always be grateful for the immense ongoing support from my community, and it has been an honor to work on their behalf to achieve positive improvements to their quality of life," Shirakawa said.
"To all my constituents, I am truly sorry for my actions and for any pain I have caused you," he said.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen is holding a 2 p.m. news conference today to further discuss the charges against Shirakawa.
— Bay City News Service Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Mary, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 2:29 pm DAMM it! this is why I despise all addictions.
Nothing else for me to say.
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Posted by Metro, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 3:12 pm This came to light from investigative journalism by the Metro. Thank God for local newspapers.
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Posted by juniperk, a resident of the Gemello neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 3:30 pm One down and there are 1000s more to go. I am sure if someone dares to dig into MV council members, it won't be that hard to find plenty of such monetary abuses with their expenses. Thanks to Metro for bringing down this 'too big to fail' big boy. Shirakawa is not an exception by any means and most govt servants think and act this way and they think they are entitled to everything. it is very shameful that many labor unions supported this man even after Metro came out with all these financial abuses. Anybody who supports these corrupt and entitlement mentality labor unions should be ashamed of themselves. I am no Pro-Business guy but people need to be objective all the time and should never take anyone's sides on any issue.
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Posted by gcoladon, a resident of the Slater neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 3:53 pm
gcoladon is a member (registered user) of Mountain View Online I wish the voters of the county's second supervisorial district better luck in picking their next representative. Shirakawa was a real disgrace.
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Posted by Slann, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 1, 2013 at 7:49 pm "my gambling addiction went untreated for too long.." So ridiculously irresponsible how his statement refuses to acknowledge any person responsibility for his CRIMES.
Only a complete moron would buy any of that crap.
GO TO JAIL!
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