KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Former congressional candidate Adam Taff pleaded guilty Monday to using $300,000 in campaign funds to cover a check for a fraudulent down payment on a home.

Taff – a Republican who twice ran for office in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes eastern Lawrence and Douglas County – pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of violating the Federal Elections Campaign Act.

“I can’t imagine any politician thinking he could take $300,000 out of a campaign account and utilize that for personal reasons, even if he did return that right back to the account,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University, where Taff served as a fellow during the spring semester.

“Some alarm bell should have gone off somewhere when someone suggested this. : It doesn’t do the image of our party a lot of good.”

Taff could face up to 30 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and five years on the finance charge. But as part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to ask for a lighter penalty when Taff appears Feb. 13 for sentencing.

“Not the most pleasant day I’ve had,” Taff told reporters after exiting the courtroom with his wife, Beth. He declined further comment.

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“This is obviously a sad and emotional day for Adam,” said Taff’s attorney, Jim Eisenbrandt. “He’s accepted full responsibility for his conduct, and he’s more than willing to accept the consequences.”

Taff, a former Navy fighter pilot, was the Republican nominee for the 3rd District seat in 2002 but lost to incumbent Democrat Dennis Moore. In 2004, Taff ran again but lost in the Republican primary to Kris Kobach.

“We’re certainly pleased for Adam that he did enter a guilty plea and that he can move on with the process,” said Derrick Sontag, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party.

A co-defendant, John D. Myers, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 to one count of wire fraud for helping Taff.

The case involved a suburban Kansas City home that Myers sold to Taff for $1.2 million. Taff obtained a $300,000 bank check from campaign funds on Feb. 10, 2004, according to the indictment, and he and Myers misrepresented the money as a down payment on the Lake Quivira house to help the candidate get approved for a mortgage.

The indictment alleged that Taff and Myers never intended for Myers to receive the $300,000 and that Taff eventually returned the funds to his campaign.

At the time, Taff was working for National Mortgage Co. Inc., where Myers was chairman.

Because Taff had lent his campaign about $125,000, he was accused of converting only $175,000 for his personal use.

Former fellow

The indictment also alleged that Taff falsely represented his campaign accounts as his personal holdings and that he claimed more than double his actual monthly income of $6,500.

Records show that on Feb. 10, 2004, Metcalf State Bank president and chief executive officer Jon Stewart was serving as Taff’s campaign treasurer. Stewart resigned his treasurer’s position Feb. 12, 2004, two days after Taff allegedly returned the $300,000 to his campaign accounts and roughly six months before the state’s primary election.

When asked earlier this fall if his resignation was in response to Taff’s case, Stewart declined comment.

Taff served as one of the Dole Institute’s first two “senior fellows” during the spring semester. He led a study group titled “In the Crosshairs: Realities of Running a High-Profile U.S. Congressional Race.”

“Adam did a great job as a fellow here, with only one exception: Most likely he knew this investigation was under way and didn’t let us know about it,” Lacy said.