Transit Repairmen Accused of Stealing from Caltrain Ticket Machines

Two San Mateo County Transit District employees have been arrested for allegedly stealing from Caltrain ticket machines they had been hired to repair.

Orvilla Taylor, 59, and Herbert Todd, 52, are due in court on July 6 for their felony arraignment on charges of embezzlement and grand theft in connection with the alleged crimes.

Prosecutors say Taylor and Todd, who repaired ticket vending machines for the county’s transit district, would remove damaged ticket machines and bring them to headquarters.

On 12 such occasions, according to prosecutors, Taylor and Todd would disassemble the machines and remove money.

The two stole more than $40,000, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office reported, before returning the machines to service.

An audit by Caltrain discovered the discrepancies between the amount deposited in the machines and what Caltrain ultimately collected, and video surveillance at the stations showed “suspicious and irregular conduct by the two suspects,” prosecutors said.

Taylor and Todd were subsequently arrested and have been charged with grand theft and embezzlement.

They are both out of custody on $150,000 bail bonds. Their initial felony arraignment took place in San Mateo County Superior Court on Tuesday, where the case was reset for July 6.