San Mateo County sheriff

Two longtime mechanics with the San Mateo County Transit District have been charged with theft and embezzlement for allegedly stealing more than $40,000 from Caltrain ticket vending machines, authorities said Tuesday.

Orvilla Taylor, 59, and Herbert David Todd, 52, removed damaged machines during a dozen service calls and brought them in, ostensibly for repair, investigators said.

San Mateo County sheriff

But instead, the two took apart the machines and stole more than $40,000 before returning them to service, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

An internal audit uncovered discrepancies between amounts deposited in the machines and what Caltrain ultimately collected, Wagstaffe said. Surveillance videos at various stations also showed “suspicious and irregular conduct by the two suspects,” the prosecutor said.

Taylor was hired in 1977 and Todd in 1985, said Christine Dunn, a spokeswoman for the transit district, the agency that manages Caltrain. Both have been placed on unpaid administrative leave and are free on $150,000 bail.

Dunn said the agency has improved the way in which machines are repaired, and “security has been increased appropriately.”