He went from being a star athlete and student body president at Franklin High School in Highland Park to Harvard.

Then came law school at Columbia, followed by a stint at a prestigious L.A. law firm where the firm’s chairman, Warren Christopher, became his mentor. With Christopher’s help, Delgadillo made the transition into politics and, in 2001, won the race for Los Angeles city attorney, becoming the first Latino elected to citywide office in more than three decades.

Even his failed campaign for California attorney general last year had some pundits saying it had increased his statewide name recognition and better positioned him for pursuit of higher office in the future.

Nothing, it seemed, could slow Delgadillo down. Until now.

Over the last several days, the city’s top prosecutor has been forced to make a series of embarrassing admissions about his own conduct and that of his wife, Michelle.

After dodging questions for days, Delgadillo acknowledged that she was driving his city-owned GMC Yukon with a suspended license when it was damaged in an accident and later repaired at city expense in 2004. He has since apologized and, after the incident surfaced publicly, repaid the $1,222 bill.

Delgadillo also acknowledged — after first denying it — that he himself had driven the couple’s personal sport utility vehicle without insurance for more than a year.

On Wednesday he confirmed that he had enlisted members of his staff to run personal errands and baby-sit his children. The city Ethics Commission and the State Bar of California have begun inquiries related to Delgadillo’s alleged use of city resources for personal purposes.

The disclosures came on the heels of his being fined $11,450 for 30 counts of violating campaign finance laws, and an accusation by Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley that Delgadillo had been filing misdemeanor charges against defendants who could have been charged as felons, to keep the cases in the city attorney’s jurisdiction.

What the fallout — politically or otherwise — ultimately will be remains to be seen. There has been widespread speculation that Delgadillo, who will be forced by term limits from the city attorney post in 2009, is considering a run for Los Angeles County district attorney next year.

Even some of his once-ardent backers did not exactly leap to his defense in the wake of the controversies.

Delgadillo, 46, was born July 15, 1960, the fourth of five children. He excelled in sports, and lettered in baseball, football, basketball and track at Franklin High. He also earned high marks and was elected class president as well as student body president.

At Harvard, he played football and later tried out for the NFL’s New York Giants, but didn’t make the team. (He subsequently claimed in campaign speeches and promotional materials that he went to Harvard on a football scholarship, was selected as an All American and played pro football. But those claims have since been modified or retracted.)