Dottie Malone Atkins, 66, pleaded guilty in April to theft by a public servant in connection with fraudulent requisitions she created and consultant fees she was paid as director of the Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace, and two other programs, said Harris County prosecutor Donna Goode.

…[Her lawyer] blamed Atkins' gambling addiction for the thefts. He said he may ask Stricklin to review the case in 90 days and consider giving Atkins "shock probation," in which judges grant probation after they have briefly experienced prison.

Prosecutors said Atkins stole about $76,000 from 2000 to 2002 from the center, the university's anti-tobacco program and the Texas Legislative Intern Program.

She created fake requisitions and invoices for work that was not done, Goode said. Atkins admitted stealing about $38,000.

"Basically, what we have is former professor Dottie Atkins, who was a public servant who became a public disgrace," Goode said during closing statements Friday.

Atkins testified that she lost about $355,000, primarily at Harrah's casino in Lake Charles, La., between January 2001 and December 2002.

"I think the culprit here is, of course, her addiction," Adamo said in closing statements.

Goode said a TSU audit uncovered Atkins' misappropriation of funds at the Leland Center and she was removed as the executive director in 2002.

Financial irregularities later were found at the two other programs she managed. TSU officials fired her in 2004.