HARRISBURG -- An employee in state Sen. Bob Regola's Harrisburg office has been suspended without pay and benefits because she is suspected of misusing more than $40,000 of his funds.

Some of the money is missing from one of the Hempfield Republican's legislative accounts and some of it is in the form of unauthorized credit card purchases, Senate officials said yesterday.

Pam Barnhart, 42, who lives in the Harrisburg area, was suspended yesterday by Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati after Mr. Regola discovered the loss of the money.

Some of the funds were "misused or missing" from an account that Mr. Regola had established "for use in conjunction with his legislative duties," according to a statement issued by Senate Chief Clerk Russ Faber. Ms. Barnhart was "responsible for administering [the senator's] office accounts" and had worked for him since 2005.

Besides the money from the legislative account, "it also became apparent that several unauthorized credit card accounts had been opened and used in [Mr. Regola's] name," the statement says. "The total amount in question appears to be in excess of $40,000."

Mr. Regola discovered the missing money and the bogus credit cards just before the Labor Day weekend.

The matter has been turned over to the state Capitol police for investigation, and no charges had been filed as of yesterday, Mr. Faber said.

Mr. Regola will leave office at the end of the current term Nov. 30 after serving four years in the Senate.

He declined to seek re-election because of controversy and publicity over charges filed against him last year in Westmoreland County related to a gun taken from his house and apparently used by a teenage neighbor to kill himself.

In July, Mr. Regola was acquitted of perjury and gun charges related to the boy's suicide, but he decided last month to withdraw from the re-election race. He blamed the news media for "tarnishing" his reputation.

Westmoreland County Republican Commissioner Kim Ward was chosen to replace him in the state Senate race; she will run against the Democratic candidate, Dr. Tony Bompiani, in November.