WOBURN, Mass. -- Middlesex County Register of Probate John Buonomo is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from copy and cash machines at the Registry of Deeds, WCVB in Boston reported.

"I see a trusted public official who has been elected. Frankly the two words that come to mind are on the one hand brazen, and the other hand sad," Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said at a news conference Wednesday night.

Leone said Buonomo, 56, was charged with 18 counts of breaking and entering, eight counts of theft of public property by a county officer and eight counts of larceny under $250.

"He had a key that opened all those machines," said Leone.

The breaking and entering and theft of public property charges are felonies.

Leone said the investigation began after the Registry of Deeds, whose office is located in the same Cambridge building as Buonomo's Probate office, had noticed shortages in receipts from its copy machines estimated to be in the thousands of dollars over several months.

State police installed video surveillance that showed Buonomo accessing the machines, which he was not authorized to do, and taking cash several times in June, July and August, Leone said.

"This is a brazen violation of the public trust," Leone said.

Buonomo's attorney, Michael Natola, said his client denies the allegations.

Several messages left at Buonomo's home in Newton were not returned.

Buonomo was first elected in 2000 to finish an unexpired term and was re-elected in 2002 to a full six-year term. He is running for re-election in November.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in Cambridge District Court.