A federal judge Tuesday ordered Cicero's former town president to report to prison two months early in an effort to stop her from gambling away money the government hopes to confiscate.

Betty Loren-Maltese was among seven defendants convicted in August in a racketeering scheme to swindle the town out of $12 million insurance money.

She was to have started her eight-year sentence on April 1, but prosecutors said that might give her a chance to fritter away the last of her money in casinos.

The federal government hopes to confiscate the former town president's holdings in a forfeiture action and use some of them as restitution to the corruption-riddled western suburb.

Federal prosecutors say that in recent months Loren-Maltese has done $18 million worth of gambling at casinos in the Chicago area and in Las Vegas, where she owns a home.

U.S. District Judge John Grady ordered her to start serving her sentence Feb. 1.

Defense attorney Terence Gillespie said Loren-Maltese's appeals attorney would decide whether to appeal the judge's order.