STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Time after time, she went through the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll plaza without paying, authorities allege. So last week, police on the bridge decided enough was enough.

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority officers arrested Annmarie McQuillan, 45, an alleged serial scofflaw who they say wouldn't pay the toll or answer the multiple summonses she racked up in recent months.

A law enforcement source familiar with the case said Ms. McQuillan had flouted the toll so many times that police on the bridge were waiting for her to cross through again so they could charge her with theft of services.

That opportunity came Thursday about 8 p.m., the source said, and she ended up arrested on a more serious offense -- it turned out she was driving with a suspended license, and her driving record was bad enough to warrant felony unlicensed driving charges.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority allows people who don't have the money or an E-ZPass handy to pay the toll at a later date, through what's referred to as a "deferred toll payment" program. The program is considered a courtesy to drivers, according to agency sources -- the toll can be paid online or by check, in exchange for a small surcharge.

If more than three unpaid tolls pile up, though, bridge officers can start issuing criminal summonses punishable by jail time, fines or both, those sources said.

Ms. McQuillan had racked up 21 unpaid deferred toll payments with two vehicles, said MTA spokeswoman Judie Glave.

She had received five summonses for failure to pay tolls, three in June and two in July, and received a sixth summons on Thursday night, when she went to a cash lane and requested yet another deferred toll payment, Ms. Glave said.

When she was asked for her license, a check showed it had been suspended 15 times on 12 different dates, Ms. Glave said.

"She was initially stopped because she had been identified as a repeat deferred toll payment violator but the arrest was because she was driving with a suspended license," Ms. Glave said.

Since last December, TBTA has issued a total of 168 failure to pay tolls summonses at its seven bridges and two tunnels, she said.

Ms. McQuillan, who lives on the 100 block of Lathrop Avenue in Westerleigh, was arraigned on Friday in Stapleton Criminal Court and ordered released on her own recognizance until her next court date, on Oct. 18.