Prominent Honolulu tax attorney and accountant Michael "Mickey" Rosenthal pleaded guilty today to failure to file a federal income tax return for the year 2000.

The guilty plea to the misdemeanor offense was part of an agreement Rosenthal and his attorney reached with the U.S. Attorney's office.

The government agreed not to pursue claims that Rosenthal also failed to file personal tax returns from 2001 through 2005.

He agreed to repay more than $280,000 in back taxes owed.

Federal Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi sentenced Rosenthal to one year of probation, including a six-month stay in a halfway house.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Osborne cited the defendant's education and background in asking Kobayashi to send Rosenthal to jail for up to a year.

"There needs to be a deterrent, there needs to be a punishment, there needs to be a message sent," Osborne said.

Defense lawyer Brook Hart argued that Rosenthal suffers from mental problems including severe depression.

Hart asked Rosenthal, who is now living on the East Coast, be sentenced to probation so that he can keep working and earning money to support his family and repay the IRS.

To date, Rosenthal has repaid $70,000, Hart said.

Osborne argued that, during 2000-2005, Rosenthal failed to file his own tax returns but "had no difficulty" filing tax returns for his wife and his clients.

Rosenthal at one point represented former Kamehameha Schools trustee Lokelani Lindsey when the IRS was attempting to collect a $229,045 tax bill from her in 2003.

Osborne said Rosenthal has practiced law "at some of the best firms in this city" and was earning between $150,000 and $200,000 in each of the years he failed to file returns.

Rosenthal told Kobayashi that his conduct was "inexcusable."

"I will never be before this court again," he said. "I will never violate the law again."

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.