Riders wait for an approaching TTC subway at the the Main Street Station on Thursday, May 21, 2009.Randall Moore/The Globe and Mail
A pair of TTC fare-collectors are facing numerous charges for allegedly pocketing money on the job, the second legal black eye for the transit service in the last few months.
Toronto police announced Thursday that two men had been arrested and that each was facing multiple charges of theft and not collecting the fare.
The arrests come on the heels of allegations that transit security officers were writing fraudulent tickets to cover up slacking off. In January eight members of the enforcement unit were fired, five of whom were charged. Their cases are wending their way through the courts.
The bright spot for the TTC, though, is that in both cases the alleged wrongdoing was spotted and investigated internally, leading to charges.
In the latest case, police say that two collectors were arrested Wednesday and charged with a total of 15 counts of theft under $5,000 and 15 counts of failure to collect the fare. They are alleged to have received money from patrons but not passed it on to the transit service.
Police constable Tony Vella could not clarify whether the alleged thefts were of monies given to buy tokens, which sell for a few dollars each, or to buy passes, the price of which can climb to nearly $130.
The two suspects are due in court in May.
Oliver Moore