PENN TWP — A former bookkeeper is accused of stealing more than $87,000 from her employer over a nearly four-year period.

The alleged theft dumbfounded the owners of Kriley's Sales and Service garage on Route 8, who had regarded the defendant as a loyal and model employee, Penn Township police said.

District Judge Sue Haggerty on Tuesday arraigned Debra Anne Benninger, 49, of Jefferson Township on 81 counts each of forgery, theft and theft by deception.

Police suspect Benninger between April 2005 and February of this year wrote business checks to herself and also used them to pay off personal credit card bills.

Co-owner David Kriley on March 31 reported the suspected theft, which the business' accountant discovered during a review of financial records that began in February.