South Lake Tahoe mayor confesses to stealing from church, attempting suicide in statement to local paper

"I am publicly admitting that I took funds from the Presbyterian Church over an extended period,"

"I was so filled with guilt, shame, and grief that I experienced a mental health crisis that made suicide seem to be the best solution."

""took funds" from the city's Presbyterian church after a prolonged "mental health crisis,""

Mayor Tamara Wallace confessed that she took funds from the city's Presbyterian church over an extended period during a prolonged mental health crisis. The theft remained undiscovered by church and legal authorities, and Wallace said overwhelming guilt and shame led her to attempt suicide. Wallace spent 18 days in a mental health facility and now follows a strict therapeutic regimen with medication and intensive daily counseling. She cited childhood familial abuse, challenges caring for a special-needs son, her son's death, and proximity to the 9/11 attacks as factors contributing to her crisis. She stated the funds were intended to care for her deceased son's three children. It remains unclear whether criminal charges have been filed.

Read at Los Angeles Times