Suspended S.C. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Sharpe pleaded guilty Thursday to extortion and lying to police, both felonies, then apologized for his “error in judgment.”

Sharpe, 66, admitted he took a $10,000 cashier’s check from operators of an illegal Aiken County cockfighting operation after agreeing to help them license and regulate the sport, prosecutors said.

A 1948 federal law, the Hobbs Act, prohibits a public official from accepting payment in exchange for misusing his or her authority.

Sharpe faces up to 20 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines recommend between two and 2½ years.

His attorney, Jim Griffin, said he would chronicle Sharpe’s years of public service to reduce the sentence.

Sharpe will remain free on bond until he is sentenced within three months.

He spoke clearly during the 45-minute hearing as federal Judge Cameron Currie asked whether he understood the rights he was giving up in changing his plea of not guilty.

“I would like to say to you and to the people of South Carolina that I am truly sorry for my error in judgment and ask for forgiveness,” he said.

Sharpe, who would not talk to reporters later, was one of the most senior members of the House of Representatives when he ran for agriculture commissioner in 2002.

His wife, Linda Sharpe, is the elected treasurer of Aiken County. She was by his side in court.

He and former State Law Enforcement Division agent Keith Stokes were charged in July. Stokes pleaded guilty in November to lying about disclosing aspects of the investigation. He was sentenced in January to three years’ probation and fined $3,000.

No one else has been charged. But federal prosecutor Mark Moore said it would be inappropriate to say whether the investigation is active.

The 12-count indictment accused Sharpe of accepting $26,000 from the S.C. Game Management Association and its backers; two counts of extortion; seven of money laundering; and three of lying to investigators.

Ten counts were dismissed in the plea bargain, Moore said.

The six payments Sharpe received began in July 2001, while he was a House member. They ended Dec. 4, 2002, after he was elected to statewide office, prosecutors said.

That final payment, a $10,000 cashier’s check on that date, was the government’s strongest evidence, Moore said, because Sharpe never reported it as a campaign contribution and wrote checks for his personal use from that Aiken bank account.

Sharpe got the money after he told the game fowl organization during a December 2002 meeting at his home near Wagener that he had a heavy campaign debt, including some of his own money, prosecutors said.

He also tried to persuade senior Aiken County sheriff’s officials the operation was legal. Some of their conversations were taped.

SLED began investigating Jan. 23, 2002, when an agent said an informant reported a cockfighting operation that involved public officials, SLED Chief Robert Stewart said.

Called “The Testing Facility,” the operation in rural Aiken County held cockfighting derbies that drew participants and spectators from several states.

They justified the contests under a 1999 provision of law they argued allowed birds to fight to test their bloodlines and hardiness. Yet birds sometimes fought to the death.

Sharpe also admitted Thursday that he lied to FBI and SLED agents about accepting money and about the help he had given cockfighting advocates.

Gov. Mark Sanford’s spokesman, Will Folks, called Sharpe’s plea “a sad situation.”

Sanford is considering making interim Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers’ temporary appointment permanent, Folks said. The Bowman dairy farmer has been serving in the post since August.

The House next week is set to vote on a bill that would change the agriculture commissioner’s post, among several statewide offices, from an elected position to a gubernatorial appointment.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, offered sympathy to the Sharpe family.

“It’s a sad day when any elected official pleads guilty to a crime,” Wilkins said.

Staff writers Jennifer Talhelm and Jeff Stensland contributed to this article. Reach LeBlanc at (803) 771-8664 or cleblanc@thestate.com.