Leonard P. Luchko pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and 28 counts of obstruction of justice in a computer-cleansing campaign he said he carried out from November 2003 through October 2005.

As outlined for U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., Luchko's guilty plea requires him to testify as needed for the government at the Sept. 8 corruption trial of Fumo and two co-defendants.

In return, federal prosecutors agreed not to seek more than a two-year prison term for Luchko at sentencing.

Luchko, 52, tall with a steel-gray crew cut, said little in court except for terse replies in an upbeat, lilting voice to Yohn's questions about waiving his trial rights.

"No problem," Luchko replied when asked whether text from the indictment could be included in his plea agreement.

"Yes, I am," he told Yohn when asked whether he was guilty of the crimes in his guilty plea.

"Not at all," he said when Yohn asked whether he had any questions. But then he reconsidered: "I have a question: Am I still allowed to vote?"

Convicted felons lose the right to vote, but under federal law, Luchko's guilty plea, like a jury's verdict, is not final until he is sentenced.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Pease and Robert A. Zauzmer declined to estimate Luchko's recommended prison term under federal sentencing guidelines.

Nevertheless, a 24-month sentence is far below the statutory maximum of five years for conspiracy and 20 years on each count of obstruction of justice.

Yohn set sentencing for Nov. 19 but acknowledged that it would likely be continued because of Fumo's trial, which prosecutors have said will last three to four months.

Luchko, of Collingdale, did not speak to reporters after the 30-minute hearing.

Defense attorney James C. Schwartzman - a longtime Fumo friend - tried to downplay the plea agreement requirement that Luchko testify for the government at Fumo's trial: "All I can say is that he will testify truthfully for whichever party asks him."

Luchko was manager of computer services for Fumo and more than a score of the senator's aides and contractors. His decision to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors is arguably the most threatening development to date for Fumo's defense team.

Luchko was intimately familiar with how Fumo's Senate office and South Philadelphia district office operated.

Moreover, court documents describe Luchko at the heart of the alleged attempt to bury incriminating information once Fumo learned he was being investigated.

The plea agreement outlines how Luchko - on Fumo's orders - in November 2003 began a campaign to erase all e-mails between Fumo and his staff and enforce an order banning staffers from saving Fumo's e-mails without the senator's permission.

The FBI and IRS were investigating Fumo's alleged use for personal gain of his Senate office and staff and a nonprofit neighborhood group he controlled, Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods.

Pease told the judge that Luchko's efforts were successful: Almost all e-mails before 2005 involving Fumo were erased from computers used by Fumo, the Citizens Alliance, and Ruth Arnao, 51, a longtime legislative aide to Fumo and director of the nonprofit.

Luchko is the first Fumo codefendant to plead guilty.

In addition to Arnao, Fumo will stand trial with Mark C. Eister, 38, of Camp Hill near Harrisburg, another computer technician who allegedly helped the cover-up.

Lawyers for the three could not be reached for comment about Luchko's guilty plea.

In June, political consultant and Fumo confidant Howard J. Cain pleaded guilty to tax evasion and agreed to testify against Fumo. Another Fumo computer aide, Donald Wilson, has cooperated with the prosecutors since before the indictment.