Pennsylvania has filed criminal charges against a former Department of Transportation purchasing agent who allegedly stole more than $123,000 from PennDOT, according to a Feb. 12 statement.

The defendant – Tina A. Smith, 48, of Bellefonte, PA, a PennDOT employee for 25 years – was a purchasing agent from 1998 through 2003, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The investigation of Smith was based on a referral from PennDOT after an audit by state Auditor General Robert Casey.

The criminal complaint, filed by Attorney General Jerry Pappert’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, alleges that Smith stole $84,827 of cash from advance account vendor checks, which were to be issued by PennDOT to various suppliers.

Additionally, the complaint accuses Smith of using her PennDOT Visa card more than 92 times at a Wal-Mart in Centre County to purchase gift cards, which she then redeemed more than 300 times. The cards were allegedly used to purchase $17,955 worth of personal items at three Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores.

Smith is also charged with using the Visa card to pay her monthly utility bills, as well as other offenses, such as theft of two PennDOT Nextel cell phones; using her PennDOT Visa card to buy $2,269 of merchandise from Office Depot; and allegedly stealing refund checks from various PennDOT suppliers.

Smith is scheduled for arraignment before Bellefonte District Justice Daniel R. Hoffman. If convicted on all charges, she faces a maximum penalty of 185 years in prison and $395,000 in fines.

Kathleen Yurchak, Smith’s attorney, was unavailable for comment by press time.

--by René Tankersley, feature editor

René Tankersley can be reached at rene_tankersley@landlinemag.com.