City Councilman Rod Tam pleaded guilty yesterday to 26 misdemeanor counts of theft and falsifying documents, and for the first time admitted to overcharging the city for meals unrelated to his work as a Council member.

The guilty pleas came eight months after Tam admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $11,700 in restitution and a $2,000 civil fine over allegations by the city Ethics Commission.

The commission said Tam improperly used his Council contingency fund for hundreds of personal meals — totaling more than $22,000 — unrelated to his city work.

Tam pleaded guilty yesterday, but did not reach an agreement with prosecutors on a maximum sentence. Attorney General Mark Bennett said the decision on whether to seek the maximum penalty will be left to the next attorney general.

"There is no agreement," Bennett said. "We are free to seek any sentence, including up to the maximum."

Tam leaves office Jan. 2 because of term limits. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor this year.

Tam pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of third-degree theft, 11 counts of fourth-degree theft and 13 counts of falsifying documents in connection with an investigation that he falsified claims for reimbursement of meals from 2007 to 2009.

LIST OF ALLEGATIONS Outgoing City Councilman Rod Tam pleaded guilty to 26 misdemeanor counts of theft and falsifying documents related to overcharging the city for personal meals unrelated to his work as a Council member. The breakdown of the counts: » Two counts, theft in the third degree, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison, a $2,000 fine or both. » 13 counts of unsworn falsification to authorities, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison, a $2,000 fine or both. » 11 counts, theft in the fourth degree, a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both. Source: Office of the Attorney General

Fifteen of the counts are misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail, a $2,000 fine or both, for each count. The 11 fourth-degree theft charges, petty misdemeanors, carry maximum penalties of up to 30 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both. Sentences typically are served concurrently.

Penalties will be decided when Tam is sentenced Jan. 27 in a hearing before part-time District Judge Randal Shintani.

"The recommendation will be up to my successor, so I think I will withhold comment at this time since I won’t be AG when the Council member is sentenced," Bennett said.

Tam was unavailable for comment, but issued a written statement saying he was responding to the charges "out of embarrassment."

"Pursuant to compromise, I have pleaded guilty to a variety of petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors," Tam said. "I submitted vouchers that exceeded actual bill amounts. I also submitted vouchers that were below actual billing amounts.

"I should have practiced better bookkeeping methods. I take full responsibility and deeply apologize for my mistakes."

Tam previously admitted only to sloppy record-keeping and faulty math, while arguing that the rules covering discretionary expenses of Council members needed to be clarified.

Bennett’s office said Tam knowingly charged the city higher amounts than he paid for meals, allowing him to be reimbursed for more than he paid out of pocket. The overcharges ranged from $8 to $267 for meals at various Honolulu restaurants.

Allegations were outlined last March in a detailed report by city Ethics Commission Executive Director Chuck Totto.

In one case, Tam claimed that a March 12, 2009, tab of $88.18 at a Japanese restaurant was for dinner with two state employees to discuss "how economy affects HI’s public education," according to the ethics report. But the commission found that the restaurant copy of the matching credit card receipt showed the dinner was on Valentine’s Day 2009 and paid by his wife, Lynette, for a dinner party of four. Tam later admitted the dinner had nothing to do with city business and offered to repay the city, the report said.

The commission detailed various instances in which Tam paid less than the amount he charged the city; his justification for the meal was false; the meal was not directly related to his Council duties; or the meal was for personal matters with business associates or family members.

Council members are given wide discretion on their individual contingency fund accounts, which last year were about $16,000. The funds can be used for virtually anything that can be justified as an expense to help conduct city business, from charges and business travel fares to lei and postage.

After settling the complaint with the Ethics Commission, Tam was censured by the City Council in a 9-0 vote that included himself. It was the second time the Council had censured Tam, after previously doing so after his use of an ethnic slur during a public meeting.

Tam is completing his second four-year term on the Council, after serving nearly two decades in the state Legislature.

He is perhaps best known from his time in the Legislature for introducing a bill to provide naps and snacks for public workers and more recently for a bill in the City Council that would have allowed bus drivers to ban riders emitting offensive body odor.