Salvage dealer Sheldon A. Morris pleaded guilty today in federal court to bribing employees of Sacramento and Sonoma in exchange for letting him have city-owned used water meters to sell to recyclers.

As part of his plea, the 76-year-old Morris admitted giving cash and other gratuities to three Sacramento employees - one identified as an informant for law enforcement - and a Sonoma employee. The bribe money came from the proceeds of the water meter sales after he took a cut for himself, Morris said.

While he was not charged with doing so, he also admitted giving checks and cash in an aggregate amount of $17,923.50 to two employees of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission between 2002 and 2007 to reward them "for purchasing and/or selling goods to Morris on behalf of the commission." The employees were identified as Gerald L. and Alex D., in court documents.

Assistant U. S. Attorney S. Robert Tice-Raskin said after the hearing that Morris' plea resolves the San Francisco matter as far as any federal charges are concerned.

Morris, who resides in Novato, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 24. With Tice-Raskin's concurrence, U. S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. allowed Morris to remain free without bail pending sentencing.

The sentence will be determined by Burrell, who will take into account a report from a probation officer that will include a sentencing calculation based on federal guidelines, as well as a recitation of Morris' background.

The guidelines are not binding, and Burrell will ultimately exercise his discretion, after hearing from Tice-Raskin and defense attorney David W. Dratman.

The admissions by Morris covered payoffs in checks and cash totaling $10,371.62 to Barry Holland, the now retired superintendent of Sacramento's water distribution branch. Morris acknowledged that two air motors with a combined value of about $7,200, and a tapping machine worth about $8,500 also went to Holland for use by his branch.

Holland has pleaded guilty in federal court to taking bribes from Morris, has been cooperating with the government, and has yet to be sentenced.

Morris admitted paying Mike Malone, who succeeded Holland, $2,300 in checks and $1,304 in cash for catering a branch holiday party. Malone has been working with the FBI and the Sacramento Police Department in their investigation of the water meter scandal.

He also admitted giving Kenneth John Guerard, former storekeeper for the water distribution branch, $300 in check and a storage container worth about $2,500. In addition, he confessed to giving Guerard a check for $752.57, "reportedly used to purchase a television for a giveaway at a branch social event;" a check for $1,600.09, "reportedly to purchase ladders for use by the branch;" a check for $1,656.12, "reportedly to purchase a lawn mower for use by the branch;" and two vending machines with a total value of $3,200, "reportedly for use by the branch."

Guerard, who was fired, is charged in Sacramento Superior Court with taking bribes from Morris. He was arraigned Wednesday and his next court date is Sept. 24.

Morris admitted to a similar scheme in Sonoma, where he provided 38 checks to Randall C., "water operations supervisor," totaling $149,529.84, and cash totaling $1,500.

Morris agreed to make restitution of $22,449.91 to Sacramento, $144,029.84 to Sonoma, and $19,762 to San Francisco, "for the full loss caused by the defendant's conduct." Under the terms of the plea bargain, the bribe recipients share the responsibility of restitution as to each city.