DRPA files charges against toll collector in thefts

The Delaware River Port Authority has filed charges against a part-time toll collector who allegedly stole $3,200 at the Walt Whitman Bridge this month.

Earlier, the DRPA had said it was not sure it would prosecute, since the authority was being reimbursed for the missing money by the temp agency that hired the toll collector.

Christopher McCoy of Philadelphia was charged with theft and removal of property, a third-degree felony, DRPA counsel Kristen Mayock said Friday.

A court hearing has been set for Feb. 5 in Gloucester City Municipal Court.

The suspected theft apparently occurred during a weekend shift this month.

Weekend toll collectors, unlike collectors who work Monday through Friday, are not DRPA employees. They are paid $10 an hour and hired by LAZ Parking/Cofiroute of Philadelphia under a $2.8 million, three-year contract with the DRPA.

Full-time toll collectors are hired by the DRPA and represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542. They are paid about $22 an hour.

McCoy, who was monitored by security cameras, has not returned to work since the suspected theft.