SAN DIEGO (CBSLA.com) — A former San Diego mayor and widow of a fast food mogul has pleaded not guilty for spending over $2 million from her late husband’s charitable foundation on her gambling addiction.

KNX 1070′s Maureen O’Connor issued a tearful apology after she admitted ultimately gambling away over $2 billion over the span of a decade while playing video poker.

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, the Associated Press reported.

“I always intended to pay it back, and I still intend to pay it back,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor spent the money gambling at local casinos, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Halpern.

She said her addiction came after the deaths of her husband, Robert O. Peterson, founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain, and other loved ones.

“It was at a time in my life where I lost my husband, I lost three of my siblings, I lost two of my best friends,” said O’Connor.

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.

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