Aug 6, 2008 9:32 pm US/Eastern
Middlesex Elected Official Accused Of Theft
Register Of Probate Caught Stealing On Tape
BOSTON (WBZ) ― Middlesex County's Register of Probate is accused of repeatedly stealing money from copy and cash machines in the Registry of Deeds, the District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

John Buonomo was arrested Wednesday evening after a three month investigation into the alleged theft. He is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from copy and cash machines.

Authorities say Buonomo, 56, was caught on surveillance video committing the alleged crimes. Police say the thefts occurred in June, July and August.

The District Attorney's Office said the thefts were discovered when the Registry of Deeds noticed monthly shortages in receipts received from their copy machines estimated to be as much as thousands of dollars over a period of months. To catch the culprit, police installed surveillance cameras.

Police say the video shows Buonomo removing stacks of dollar bills, counting the money, and then returning a portion of those bills to the machine while pocketing the rest. Police say he would usually access the machines at the end of the work day.

According to the Registry of Deeds, Buonomo has no authority to access the cash machines or copy machines on the Registry of Deeds side of the building nor does he have the authority to remove money from the machines.

Buonomo is charged with 18 felony counts of breaking and entering into a depository, eight felony counts of theft of public property by a city/town/county officer and eight misdemeanor counts of larceny under $250.

Buonomo was first elected in 2000 to finish an unexpired term and was re-elected in 2002 to a full 6-year term.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court on Thursday