A former investigator in City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's office pleaded guilty this morning to two counts of theft of city funds and two counts of illegal use of city computers.

Craig Whang entered the plea before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins and will be sentenced November 26.

Authorities began an investigation in 2003 of Whang's use of city funds to purchase ammunition and other law enforcement equipment which he stored at his Mililani home.

He said at the time that his superiors knew about and approved of his activities.

In 2004, after leaving his job on stress-related leave of absence, Whang sued the city, alleging that the criminal investigation was retaliation for complaints he filed about workplace violence. That suit is still pending.

Whang was indicted in 2006 on multiple charges of illegal diversion of city funds, a case handled by the state Attorney General's office.

All of the ammunition and other equipment which he had purchased was recovered.

Last week, a new criminal complaint was filed against him by the state, listing 12 counts of unauthorized computer access while he worked at the prosecutor's office.

Yesterday, in a plea agreement, Whang pleaded guilty to four criminal charges.

His lawyer, Myles Breiner, said that Whang is seeking a deferred acceptance of his guilty plea. If accepted by Judge Perkins, the deferral would not result in a criminal record for Whang if he remains arrest and conviction free for a specified time.

Breiner said the computer access charges involved activity that others besides Whang in the prosecutor's office in the office engaged in, and are still engaged in, but that Whang was singled out for criminal charges because of the civil suit he is still pursuing.

Whang's wife was working as a process server and Whang looked up information on his city computer that was helpful to his wife in her job, Breiner said.

He used a publicly available software program, which the prosecutor's office had purchased for use by its employees, according to Breiner.

What Whang did "was no different from what other investigators in the office did and continue to do for other people," Breiner said.

"Because of the lawsuit he filed, they retaliated against him. They got his computer and they brought these new charges against him," said the lawyer.

Whang's wife has since purchased the program herself, he said.

"Technically, what he did was a violation of the law," Breiner said.

"He has chosen to plead guilty because he wants to move on with his life," said Breiner.

Whang is "a well-recognized and well-thought of swimming coach" and wants to pursue that career, said the lawyer.

If the deferred guilty plea is granted, Whang "will be able to resume coaching," according to Breiner.

He also intends to continue the civil suit against the city and believes he will prevail there, according to Breiner.

The suit was placed on hold pending resolution of the criminal charges against Whang, but the litigation will now resume, Breiner said.