Former San Diego mayor admits taking charity funds for gambling addiction

SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego mayor Maureen O'Connor has admitted in federal court that she misappropriated $2 million from her late husband's charitable foundation due to a gambling addiction in which won more than $1 billion but lost even more over nearly a decade.

O'Connor made the acknowledgement Thursday in an agreement with the government to defer prosecution for two years while she attempts to repay the debt.

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.

Prosecutors say her gambling winnings amounted to more than $1 billion from 2000 to 2009 but she lost more than that.