Middlesex County Register of Probate and former Somerville alderman John Buonomo was arrested yesterday in connection with his alleged theft of public monies.

Buonomo, 56, of Newton, was put in handcuffs Wednesday by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. He was charged with 18 counts of breaking and entering into a depository, eight counts of theft of public property by a City/Town/County Officer, and eight counts of larceny under $250.

Prosecutors said Buonomo, a county-wide elected official, engaged in a repeated pattern of stealing cash from copy machines and money machines at the Office of the Register of Deeds over a period of weeks. Video surveillance cameras installed by the Middlesex District Attorney’s PACT Unit allegedly captured Buonomo stealing numerous times during the months of June, July, and August. The Register of Deeds office is located in the same building as the Register of Probate office.

‚ÄúIt is highly troubling that a public official would engage in the kind of brazen theft of public monies that we allege here,‚Äù Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said. ‚ÄúWe believe that Mr. Buonomo violated the public‚Äôs trust by regularly accessing these cash machines without authority and stealing taxpayer money. I want to thank the Secretary of State’s Office, the Registry of Deeds, the Trial Court, and the Chief Justice for Administration and Management for their cooperation during this investigation. I also want to commend the members of the Massachusetts State Police in our PACT Unit for their comprehensive investigation ‚Äì and that investigation continues."

The investigation, conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s PACT Unit, began in June when information was obtained regarding the suspected ongoing theft of monies from numerous copy machines and cash machines within the Registry of Deeds, located at 208 Cambridge Street in Cambridge. The Registry of Deeds had noticed monthly shortages in receipts received from their copy machines estimated to be as much as thousands of dollars over a period of months.

Based on this and other information obtained during a subsequent investigation, State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s PACT Unit installed video surveillance equipment in the second floor and basement areas of the Registry of Deeds office. During the following weeks, usually at the end of the work day, Buonomo was regularly observed on video accessing the money machines in the basement and second floor of the Registry of Deeds, prosecutors said. He was often captured on video removing a stack of dollar bills, counting the money, and then returning a portion of those bills to the machine while pocketing the rest.

During the weeks of the investigation, Buonomo was allegedly captured on video accessing one of the machines on at least eighteen separate occasions. He is believed to have taken cash for himself on at least eight of those occasions.

According to the Registry of Deeds, Buonomo has no authority to access the cash machines or copy machines on the Registry of Deeds side of the building nor does he have the authority to remove money from the machines.

The breaking and entering and theft of public property charges are felonies. The larceny under $250 is a misdemeanor charge.

Buonomo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the breaking and entering into a depository charge. He has a long history in Somerville. He was first elected to public office in the city in 1979 when he was elected to the school committee. He then served as the Ward 4 alderman for 12 years and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1989 and 1999.