CHICKASHA — OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former auditor for the Commissioners of the Land Office in Oklahoma pleaded guilty Friday to 174 counts of embezzlement that accused him of stealing more than $1 million from the state agency.

Roger Q. Melson Jr., former director of audit for the agency's royalty audit division, entered the guilty plea during a brief appearance before Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Watson, who set sentencing for Nov. 9. Melson was scheduled to go to trial on the charges on Monday.

Melson, 56, faces between one and 20 years in prison on each count and possible fines and restitution. Attorney General Drew Edmondson, whose office prosecuted the case, said the state will ask the judge to order Melson to prison and make full restitution to the agency where he worked for more than 20 years.

But Melson's defense attorney, Billy Bock, said Melson should be allowed to remain free and continue working to pay the state back.

Melson is currently employed as a maintenance worker at a church in Edmond. Melson has already surrendered his state retirement and other assets and helped state officials reach a $250,000 settlement with BancFirst where Melson opened a bogus account and deposited more than $1.16 million in royalty payments intended for the Land Office.

"I don't think it's necessary for him to go to the penitentiary," Bock said.

Bock described Melson as a "gamblaholic" who embezzled from the agency to feed a gambling habit. He said Melson has received counseling and has overcome the problem.

"I don't think he's going to re-offend. He does not gamble anymore," Bock said.

Melson was indicted by a multi-county grand jury in June 2009.

The grand jury found that Melson diverted Land Office payments to the private account over a five-year period.

The case prompted legislation passed earlier this year that modernized and improved auditing practices at the Land Office, which manages public school lands to benefit schools.

Among other things, the legislation allowed the Land Office to hire an internal auditor to review the agency's operating procedures and a financial institution to receive royalty payments and provide cash management and security services.

Bock said Melson takes full responsibility for his actions but that outdated auditing procedures at the Land Office contributed to them.

"This was completely his doing. The easy access to the funds certainly played a role," Bock said.

Melson's job at the Land Office was to make sure oil and gas royalties from mineral leases on public school lands were properly collected.

Prosecutors have said the embezzlement was discovered in April 2009 when a delinquency notice was issued by the Land Office for an overdue royalty payment from an oil and gas producer on public lands.

But the producer provided the canceled royalty check it had sent to the Land Office, and investigators traced it to the private bank account Melson had opened.

Investigators eventually discovered that Melson had diverted 174 Land Office royalty checks to the private account, a scheme that hurt Oklahoma schools and students, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said.

"Oklahoma schools face a severe budget crisis and Melson's criminal actions have deprived our educational system and the students it serves of much needed funds," Edmondson said.