D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. announced Thursday night he is resigning his post and will plead guilty tomorrow to charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money.
In a prepared statement distributed to reporters, Thomas said he resigning his position on the D.C. Council effective immediately.
“I made some very serious mistakes and exhibited inadequate and flawed judgment,” Thomas said in the statement (PDF). “I take full responsibility for my actions. I am truly sorry.”
Prosecutors earlier in the day charged Thomas in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with two felonies, theft and filing a false tax return. The government alleged Thomas failed to report $346,000 in income between 2007 and 2009.
Thomas apologized to his constituents in the District’s Ward 5, and to his friends and family. “Today I am taking the first step toward making things right,” he said.
A D.C. Council member since 2006, Thomas said in the statement that he “made some poor decisions and acted in ways that I simply should not have. I was wrong.”
U.S. District Judge John Bates is scheduled to preside over Friday’s sentencing hearing at 11:15 a.m. Venable partner Seth Rosenthal and Frederick Cooke Jr. of Washington’s Rubin, Winston, Diercks, Harris & Cooke, represent Thomas.
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