Gallegly Says He Wrote 2 Overdrafts at House Bank : Bad checks: The Simi Valley congressman learns of his ‘honest mistake’ from the sergeant-at-arms. The $174.30 shortfall was covered.

A chagrined Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who said earlier this week that he had not bounced any checks at the House bank, reversed himself Friday by announcing that he had indeed written two checks with insufficient funds in his account.

Gallegly said he learned Friday about the bad checks in a letter he requested from U.S. House of Representatives Sergeant-at-Arms Jack Russ stating that his record was clean. The overdrafts were for $3,000 and $105.60. They exceeded the money in his account by a total of $174.30.

Gallegly requested the letter on Tuesday, the day his spokesman told The Times that the congressman had not written any bad checks.

“Although I didn’t know about either incident until today, and although neither incident cost the taxpayers one cent, I’m still deeply embarrassed,” Gallegly said in a news release. “I’ve discovered that I made an honest mistake that I wasn’t aware of.”

Gallegly’s disclosure came one day after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to shut down its private bank and launch an Ethics Committee inquiry into revelations that lawmakers bounced 8,331 checks during a 12-month period ending in June, 1990. The flap was precipitated by an audit that also found that 134 House members wrote 581 checks for more than $1,000 each without having money to cover them.

In each case the bank covered the overdraft with the no-interest deposits of other members and did not assess a penalty. No public funds were lost through this practice, but its disclosure has provoked a public furor because it is widely viewed as a special privilege that members of Congress have granted themselves.

Gallegly said that in November, 1989, a check for $105.60 cleared the bank one day before his House paycheck was automatically deposited in his account. He had a balance of $56.30 at the time.

In February, 1990, Gallegly’s wife, Janice, wrote a $3,000 check for the couple’s Simi Valley household expenses when only $2,875 was available in the bank, he said. This overdraft was covered by Gallegly’s next House paycheck.

A staunch fiscal conservative, Gallegly said in an interview that a distinction should be made between habitual offenders who knowingly bounce large checks and those, like himself, who had simply made arithmetic mistakes.

“The issue is one of defining who has abused the system and who has made an honest mistake,” said Gallegly, a three-term lawmaker. “The real issue is people knowing they don’t have money in the bank and continuing to write checks. They should be dealt with accordingly. That’s where the Ethics Committee comes in.”

Nonetheless, Gallegly said he realized that political opponents may seek to make capital out of the overdrafts.

“Everything that you do is put under a microscope and someone, I’m sure, will try to put a different spin on it,” the former Simi Valley mayor said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s not right, but that’s not uncommon.”

Yet, despite his acknowledged embarrassment, Gallegly retained a sense of humor. Asked by a reporter how he was Friday, he replied, “I’m trying to make bail.”

Ventura County’s other congressman, Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) released a statement earlier in the week saying he had not overdrawn his House checking account. Lagomarsino included a letter from Russ verifying his claim.

Russ wrote: “As you have requested, my office has reviewed your bank account records for the period July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990. These records indicate that the presentation for payment of checks drawn on your account did not in any instance exceed your available balance of funds on deposit with this office.”