Woman Is Defeating Cocaine But Can't Win Back Friends

Christine Psaltis thought that kicking her $750aweek cocaine habit would
turn her troubled life around.

It's been more than a year since the 40yearold homemaker admitted to
embezzling $15,000 from her daughters' parochial school to fund her closet
addiction.

Although she's been drugfree for 18 months, Psaltis said, she's battling
severe depression. She said she remains a pariah among her former friends in
Prince William County from whom she stole money to buy cocaine.

She said she has sent her two daughters, ages 12 and 13, to live in New York
with family members while she tries to get her life back together.

"You think everyone will be so glad you're not using [drugs], and you'll have
this overwhelming amount of support," said Psaltis, who began using drugs in
college and secretly snorted cocaine for 15 years before she quit. "Instead,
they're really ashamed of what I've done, and they've separated themselves
from me. They can't face the fact that I had a drug problem and I did some
horrible things."

In March, Psaltis was given a 12month suspended sentence for stealing money
from the St. Francis of Assisi School in Triangle, where she headed the
ParentTeacher Organization.

She is enrolled in a 12step program for addicts and is required to see a
psychiatrist every week. The terms of her probation are strict, and travel,
even a trip into Washington, requires permission from her probation
supervisor.

When it finally came time to shed her drug habit, Psaltis said, she did so by
quitting cold turkey. But going straight didn't eliminate her mountains of
problems.

Psaltis and her husband, Anthony, filed for bankruptcy because of the $52,000
in debt she incurred from using drugs. The couple lost their Montclair home
and now live in a rented town house. And several civil lawsuits against
Psaltis are pending in connection with the money she took from colleagues,
she said.

While the biggest legal hurdles are behind her, Psaltis said, her world
continues to crumble. She clings to her therapist, whom she sees and phones
regularly for support, and she said her conviction on the misdemeanor offense
has made it difficult for her to get a job.

"I wish this could be a happilyeverafter story," Psaltis said. "This has
paralyzed me. I've lost everything."

Leef Smith