The mayor of South Lake Tahoe admitted to having stolen funds in a church and trying to commit suicide due to his overwhelming guilt on the crime, according to a self-exposed that she sent to a local newspaper.
In a revealing letter addressed to the South Lake Tahoe community, the mayor Tamara Wallace admitted on Monday that she “took funds” from the Presbyterian church of the city after a prolonged “mental health crisis”, according to the letter published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune. While Wallace said that the theft had not been discovered by the legal authorities or the judicial authorities, she declared that guilt had led her to try to commit suicide and were finally cleaned.
“I publicly admit that I took funds from the Presbyterian church over an extended period,” wrote Wallace. “I was so full of guilt, shame and sorrow that I experienced a mental health crisis which made suicide are the best solution.”
It is not known if accusations have already been deposited against Wallace for his admitted crime.
Wallace has said that since her suicide attempt, she spent 18 days in a mental health establishment and adopted a strict therapeutic diet with drugs and advice “intense, every day”, according to the letter.
She told several events throughout her life which, according to her, led her to try to commit suicide, in particular family abuses, difficulties with her son to special needs, the death of her son Christopher and his proximity to the attacks of September 11 in 2001, according to the letter. All the funds, Wallace said, were supposed to take care of the three children of his deceased son.
“My guilt came from my funding from a church which, individually and as a group, kissed me, showed me love and trusted me as a church administrator,” said Wallace in the letter. “The weight of what I had done was so unbearably great that my mind deceived me in the conviction that my suicide attempt would protect my husband … and my adult children, who have all devoted their lives to the children of this community.”
She said that she believed that the flight was perhaps part of an adaptation mechanism and compared to a child with a host family who can accumulate articles or food as a means of calming.
“I became the right of A and I became the mother and woman who work hard who have invested in helping others, serving citizens and doing my best to provide things like the police, fire safety, better road repairs and accommodation,” said Wallace. “It is the person that everyone knows”
The presbyterian church of South Lake Tahoe and the representatives of the city could not be attached immediately to comment.
Wallace apologized for her shares and undertook to reimburse the money she had stolen, but said that she had heard by a “second -hand” source that the Church could ask for charges against her.
She said that she had asked for the unconventional path of publication of her own crime in the newspaper and decided to admit reprehensible acts instead of “trying to lie, hide and delay the consequences of something they have done”.
The term Wallace for the Mayor should end next month. It is not known if the city will ask for disciplinary measures for committing a flight during its mandate.
“I feel completely vulnerable,” wrote Wallace. “Sorry is not a word strong enough to explain the depths of my regret and my shame. I don’t think anyone can be as angry with me as myself.”
Prevention of suicide and crisis consulting resources
If you or someone you know with suicidal thoughts, ask for help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The three-digit three-digit hotlines 988 from the United States, the Hotline 988, will connect the appellants to advisers trained in mental health. “Home” text at 741741 in the United States and Canada to reach the line of crisis text.
