A Penn State Office of Physical Plant [OPP] employee was charged Saturday in connection with the theft of $10,880 from the university, police said.

Thomas L. Smeal, 1407 Schoolhouse Rd., Morrisdale Pa., forged his boss' signature on 318 time cards since 2006, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Smeal, 24, faces two counts of theft by deception and one count of forgery after he forged his boss' signatures on his time cards, according to the criminal complaint. Smeal told police his boss wasn't around to sign the time cards, and he wanted to make sure he received his paychecks on time, the affidavit states.

While Smeal told police he initially worked the hours he was signing, he began falsifying the hours he worked because he would go out the night before and start coming in later and later and no one would question him, according to court documents.

When Smeal was informed he had stolen an estimated $10,880.86, he replied, "That sounds about right," according to the affidavit.

The university has also charged other employees with theft in recent months.

Former Health and Human Development research assistant and project coordinator Tonya Sunday, 163 Edith St., was charged with felony theft in March after police say she stole more than $40,000 from Penn State using a university issued credit card.

"The vast majority of our employees are hardworking and honest," Penn State Spokeswoman Jill Shockey said.

Penn State's Ethics and Compliance Hotline telephone number allows employees and students to call at any time to report employee misconduct, Shockey said. She noted several employees have even reported misconduct through the hotline.

"We do have systems in place for checks and balances," Shockey said.