Wife of convicted San Francisco sheriff defends him in play

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[May 29, 2015]  By Emmett Berg
 
 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The wife of San Francisco's sheriff delivered a sharp rebuke to his critics on Thursday when she performed a preview of her one-woman show about his conviction for domestic abuse in 2012.

Eliana Lopez's "Cuál es el Escándalo?" ("What is the Scandal?") revisits scenes from the former Venezuelan soap opera actress's life, including when she met Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, then a supervisor in the Californian city.

"This is not a documentary," Lopez told the audience at the Mission Cultural Center for the Latino Arts. "This is a fictionalization of six of the hardest months of my life."

Mirkarimi was not in attendance. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment just five days after he became sheriff, after a New Year's Eve quarrel with Lopez turned violent.

A neighbor recorded a cellphone video the day after the argument showing a tearful Lopez displaying a bruised arm and saying her husband grabbed her.

Lopez refused to testify against Mirkarimi in court and supported him in front of a city ethics panel. Mirkarimi, a co-founder of California's Green Party, struck a deal to plead guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to a day in jail and three years of probation.

Mirkarimi was suspended by Mayor Ed Lee but ultimately reinstated. Mirkarimi faces re-election in the fall.

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The hour long performance mixed playful takes on her husband and family with scorn for the neighbor whose video resulted in Mirkarimi’s arrest and jibes at a bowing, mustachioed "Mr. Lie."

Lopez was asked in an audience question-and-answer session whether her Mr. Lie character was intended to represent Lee. She said the character was a composite of San Francisco politicians without naming any.

Lopez will perform the play six times over its two week run.

(Editing by Curtis Skinner and Katharine Houreld)

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