ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Devon Horton pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion for participating in a kickback scheme at the Illinois school district he previously oversaw.

Horton, 49, was originally charged with and pleaded not guilty to 17 federal charges of wire fraud, tax fraud and embezzlement last fall stemming from allegations from his time as superintendent of Evanston/Skokie District 65 in Illinois.

One of the charges was later dropped. Monday, he agreed to plead guilty to charges 1, 14 and 16. Horton's attorney, Terence Campbell, did not immediately return a request for comment.

U.S. Attorney Emily Vermyllen said Monday that, based on Horton's criminal history, if the court deemed he had taken appropriate responsibility for his actions, Horton would be eligible for 87 to 108 months in prison (about seven to nine years). If he had not taken appropriate responsibility, Vermyllen said, he would be eligible for 121 to 151 months (about 10 to 12 years).

Judge Thomas Durkin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois remarked that he could not recall a case in which the defendant pleaded guilty but there was still a question of whether the defendant had taken appropriate responsibility for his actions.

Horton's change of plea comes after one of the men indicted as a co-defendant, Samuel Ross, signed a plea agreement last Tuesday in which he said he would testify against Horton and the two other men in the trial set to begin Oct. 21.

Horton was indicted last year alongside Samuel Ross, Antonio Ross and Alfonzo Lewis. The indictment charges that the four men took or gave kickbacks from businesses they owned that made contracts with District 65 and Chicago Public Schools without disclosing their involvement or financial stake.

In the agreement, Samuel Ross said he participated in a scheme in which Horton would award false contracts and approve payments from District 65 to Ross's company, Asset Protection, for loss prevention work that was never done, in exchange for Ross giving par

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