Widowfield did not speak during the brief hearing except to enter guilty pleas to charges of failing to tell the public about income from the ticket sales on his financial-disclosure forms, and to converting campaign funds to personal use.

Municipal Court Judge Paul M. Herbert fined him the maximum $1,000 for each first-degree misdemeanor but did not impose jail time. Widowfield also must pay $178 in court costs. He has until Nov. 11 to make the payment.

The Cuyahoga Falls Republican spent more than $7,700 in campaign money on Ohio State football tickets from 2002 through 2006. Such purchases are legal, but those tickets cannot be resold for personal profit.

Widowfield documented that he reaped $2,837 in profit in 2003, $610 in 2004, $2,979 in 2005 and $7,249 in 2006. He has reimbursed his campaign $13,676 to cover the proceeds.

He resigned from the House in May after the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee began investigating the matter.

In a self-referral to the Ohio Elections Commission this month, Widowfield wrote, "My misconduct has, quite properly, resulted in my resignation from the General Assembly. I have written a personal check to my campaign committee in the amount of the proceeds at issue ...but that does not excuse or change the fact that I violated (state law)."

The Elections Commission last week referred the case to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who filed the two charges.

jsiegel@dispatch.com