WASHINGTON--An apologetic Rep. Joseph Moakley (D-Mass.) said yesterday he wrote 90 bad checks over 39 months at the House bank.

"Although no taxpayer's money was involved and no laws or regulations or rules of the House were broken, I nonetheless apologize to my constituents for the mistakes that were made in the handling of my checking account," Moakley said in a statement.

Moakley never wrote checks totalling more than his upcoming month's pay. Members who carried negative monthly balances at least eight times over the period covered by a House investigation of the bank made the list of the top 22 worst abusers.

Still, Moakley's total of 90 bad checks worth a total of $31,259 was high compared to most House members. On a list of the top 66 abusers of the bank, 16 members had fewer than 90 bad checks. Three of those members wrote checks totalling less than Moakley's total.

"It seems clear that I should have majored in accounting rather than sheet metal when I was at Southie High," said Moakley, a 20-year veteran of the House and chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. "I take full responsibility for my actions."

Iey made it clear that he is worried about how the House bank scan-