T fires worker accused in fare theft

Gilberto Carrasquillo pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. (George Rizer/ Globe Staff)

A 22-year MBTA employee accused of stealing subway fare money was fired yesterday, after police said he admitted to pilfering at least four other times.

Gilberto Carrasquillo, 43, pleaded not guilty yesterday at his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of larceny over $250. Judge Annette Forde scheduled a pretrial hearing for Sept. 15 and released him on his own recognizance.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that Daniel Grabauskas, the agency's general manager, dismissed Carrasquillo after a disciplinary hearing.

In a sworn statement filed with the court by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police, officers said that Carrasquillo, after being arrested at work early Sunday, initially contended it was his first time stealing money from fare boxes but then admitted he had done it several times.

MBTA officials would not reveal yesterday how much money they suspect Carrasquillo took during the alleged thefts. Pesaturo said Carrasquillo had a base annual salary of $58,468 and had been in his last position - senior revenue collection agent - since May 2004.

"With the investigation ongoing, no further details about the case will be released at this point," Pesaturo said.

Carrasquillo declined to comment after the arraignment, heading swiftly for an elevator, flanked by cameras and reporters. Robert Proctor, the lawyer who represented Carrasquillo at the hearing, said he was "presumed innocent."

"He was cooperative; he has no record," Proctor said as he walked into an elevator. "He's been an employee of the T for a long time."

Carrasquillo was responsible for bringing fare boxes from the subway stations to a locked vault.

He was investigated after officials received a tip from the T's money room director of security that cash was being stolen from the type of fare boxes often used at stations during high-volume events, such as Red Sox games.

The transit police placed marked $10 and $20 bills in several drop boxes used Saturday.

Carrasquillo and his co-worker picked up the fare money at Fenway and Kenmore stations and moved the bills into MBTA-issued deposit bags, according to the arrest affidavit. Carrasquillo was left alone with the bags, after he urged his partner to use the bathroom at the Hotel Commonwealth, according to the affidavit.

They carried the money to a room at Back Bay Station. There, an audit conducted after they submitted the money to a safe box revealed all but one of the marked bills were missing. Carrasquillo was questioned and arrested.

According to police, Carrasquillo had more than $600 from the fare boxes. Some of the money was folded and hidden in his trouser pockets, and the rest was kept in a cloth bank bag that he hid under his MBTA raincoat, police said.

Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@globe.com.