Posted on 02/14/2013 5:24:25 PM PST by dead
Former San Diego Mayor Maureen OConnor acknowledged in federal court Thursday that she took $2 million from her late husband's charitable foundation to pay for her addiction to video poker and lost $1 billion wagering over the course of a decade.
OConnor, the mayor of Californias second largest city from 1986 to 1992, pleaded not guilty to money laundering as part of a deal with prosecutors that will defer the charges for two years as she attempts to repay the debt.
An attorney for OConnor, Eugene Iredale, told reporters outside the courthouse that his client had severe health problems, including a brain tumor, that led to her gambling addition, according to NBC San Diego.
Iredale said his client won more than $1 billion from 2000 to 2009 playing video poker in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and San Diego, but lost most of it.
After dipping into the red, she wound up compiling $13 million in debt, according her attorney.
Prosecutors allege that between September 2008 and March 2009, the 66-year-old took more than $2,088,000 from the foundation started by her late husband, Jack-in-the-Box founder Robert O. Peterson.
OConnor was elected the first female mayor of San Diego after serving eight years on city council. She was married to Peterson from 1977 until his death in 1994, and her estate was at one time worth $40 to $50 million.
One reason that I don’t commit crimes is because I could only commit little ones, which guarantees that I would do hard time and be punished hardcore.
She’s a liberal democRAT. But I’m surprised NBC didn’t say she was a Republican.
My my my. California elects every Democrat they can in the last election, but they don’t legalize marijuana? And we have all these Democrat women who can’t seem to keep track of billions of dollars? Wonder if that money came from the drug trade to elect Democrats.
O’Connor was the Democratic leader of California’s second-largest city from 1986 to 1992. The two-term mayor was elected San Diego’s first female leader after eight years on the City Council. She was married to Robert O. Peterson, founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain.
Her attorney should be jailed for being a dumb ass liar. No way could she have won and lost a billion dollars playing video poker. Even in this age of a trillion dollars, a billion dollars is a huge amount. Plus, it is statistically impossible to win one billion dollars or something far less playing video poker. The video machines are set for the casino to have a small edge which over time gives the casino its profits. One person playing for a long time has to end up losing to the house.
As a former resident of SD, I and every resident know that Maureen is a Democrat. As like just about all county and city elected positions in California are non-partisan, although in recent years that has turned into a joke as the Dem Party began pouring money into these non-partisan elections.
I don't care how GOOD you are at video poker, NOBODY goes up by that amount. Even doubling per turn.
Hell, even the blackjack card counters don't ever get that lucky.
Once they hit a certain level, the pit boss "politely" asks the patron to leave.
If you're a "whale", and keep losing, great. You get treated as a king, with comped suites and food/drink.
There must be a zero missing from this story. Maybe a couple.
This doesn't happen in the real world.
Thanks dead.
Why isn’t she in jail?
It was stop the presses news.
But he's a republican, and it was his own money. So of course, round the clock coverage.
A democrat elected official STEALS 2 million dollars from charity to gamble and all we hear is crickets from the MSM.
Geez, people, don't make such terrible accusations against our President.
Dope fiend and cocaine abuser. That's all.
Crackhead? Such disrespect to our drug abusing leader.
Well I never...
This reminds me of a ridiculous, legendary incident in Reading, PA in the mid 1960’s. The mayor was convicted and sent to prison for selling the city’s snow plows, and using the proceeds to pay his gambling debts.
That's almost $350 thousand per day. Does not pass the smell test. Either that's a typo or a mis-speak or they're trying to cover up money laundering, too.
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