After a high-profile fall from grace marked by gambling and money laundering, former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor is finally escaping the shadow of prosecution -- and no longer a prisoner of the addiction that cost her a fortune.
It was two years ago that O’Connor, now 68, was accused of money-laundering to support a gambling habit.
Now, the criminal case against her is in the process of being dismissed.
O'Connor has been free under a pretrial "deferred prosecution" agreement that's held criminal charges in abeyance, pending restitution of $2 million taken from a nonprofit foundation created by her late husband Robert O. Peterson, the founder of Jack-in-the-Box.
She’s paying it back to two other charities “with the approval of all interested parties,” according to a statement filed in federal court, and getting involved in those causes.
“It was probably the most difficult day of my life,” O’Connor recalled of Feb. 14, 2013 -- the day news of the scandal broke.
“But I also learned how people don't understand and are quick to judge,” she told NBC 7 in an interview Tuesday. “So I can't wait to get back out there and share my views."
Since surgery to remove a brain tumor that she believes was behind her ruinous video poker obsession, O'Connor said she's no longer had a desire to gamble.
What she now has are proceeds from an unrelated legal settlement to make the charitable restitutions that prosecutors required of her.
O’Connor lost approximately $13 million through wagering -- and gained worldwide notoriety for the much larger numbers that reflected her total betting volume over nine years of visits to Las Vegas, Atlantic City and tribal casinos.
"The billion-dollar headlines that really had nothing to do with the facts is what everybody grabbed onto,” she said. “It’s sensational. It sells papers. TV interviews."
From time to time after leaving as mayor in 1992, O'Connor has gone public on behalf of issues near and dear to her heart -- and political mindset.
But she chooses them -- and her words -- carefully.
"I see a lot of things I would do differently, but I never try and criticize another mayor. Will I get back in politics? It just depends,” she mused. “If someone needs me and I have the energy and the desire -- sure, I'll help them. That's the way I've been."
Local
Following a status hearing before a federal magistrate judge Tuesday, the dismissal of O'Connor's case is scheduled to become final next week.
Her restitution funds are going to the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation and Sharp Memorial Hospital's Foundation, for which she'll work on programs dealing with "illness-caused addictions."
