Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A letter written to the judge in the Rachel Duncan embezzlement case asked him to consider a man's death during deliberations.

Meg Sponseller, the widow of Tom Sponseller, sent a handwritten letter to Judge Joe Anderson. Anderson is sentencing Duncan, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking $480,000 from the South Carolina Hospitality Association.

Tom Sponseller was the CEO of the lobbying group, and committed suicide in February in the parking garage next to the association's offices. Investigators say he had learned before his death that Duncan had taken money from the group without his knowledge.

"In my mind and in the mind of many others, her actions sent my husband, Tom Sponseller, to his grave," wrote Meg Sponseller in her letter. 

During her plea agreement, prosecutors laid out the case that Duncan was heavily involved in online gambling. They also said she was cooperating with federal investigators about the larger online gambling network.

Meg Sponseller, however, said she hoped Duncan's compliance wouldn't cause the judge to lessen the punishment.

"If she receives lesser time because of her 'cooperation' with online gambling, how sad for our system."