A Port Authority employee has been charged with stealing from the treasury room where fare money is counted.

Damara J. Walker, 25, of Clairton, was seen by a security officer folding money into a small pile and stuffing it into her pocket on Nov. 9 at the Manchester facility.

Police were called and questioned Ms. Walker, who turned over two piles of money totaling $384, according to an affidavit.

Ms. Walker, an employee since July 2008, told detectives she had stolen money on 15 to 20 occasions in amounts less than $300 because of tough economic times, and had returned money when she could afford to do so, according to the affidavit.

She was fired last week, authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said.

He said the authority's conversion to a new fare collection system next year will "make it easier to verify money coming in and money going out" and reduce the possibility of theft. He said there were no plans to beef up surveillance at the facility in the interim.

"What this individual did was illegal. She got caught. Thankfully we have employees who were willing to speak up when there was something amiss," Mr. Ritchie said. "What she was able to do was very small."

Ms. Walker was charged with one count of theft by unlawful taking, a misdemeanor. Her preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 22.

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