A Pasco County deputy clerk has been accused of stealing money from the city's traffic department.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Pasco County Clerk Paula O'Neil said internal audits showed five financial discrepancies on the traffic department's books in June.
Kelly Hafner-Houston, the deputy clerk who oversaw the account, was placed on administrative leave by the county.
According to the arrest report, Hafner-Houston collected cash payments from fines and fees, and then would erase the tickets from the system and pocket the cash herself. In about two weeks investigators say Kelly stole just fewer than $600.
“Very sad, very sad,” said O’Neil.
County officials then notified the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Hafner-Houston was arrested Tuesday and bonded out of the Pasco County Jail early Wednesday.
O'Neil says between $300 and $1,000 is missing. She credited strong internal controls for "early detection" of the theft.
The county clerk's office is expecting that money back.
"The money is not ours, it's the public's money that most of is sent to the state,” O'Neil said.
Hafner-Houston is charged with fraud, grand theft and altering or destroying official documents.