Former Library Employee Accused of Stealing Over $1.3M in Printer Toner

An ex-Austin Public Library employee is facing some criminal charges after he was accused of stealing more than $1M worth of printer toner and reselling it online over a 12-year period. Yes, over one million dollars. Of printer toner.

According to an investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor, Randall Whited is accused of stealing nearly $1.3M in toner. The auditor blames he library's “poor practices and procedures” between October 2007 and July 2019 for him being able to get away with the crime.

Whited was allowed to approve his own purchases, which included all of the toner he resold. The auditor's office said the library only would've used about $150,000 worth of toner.

In addition to the toner, he also made purchases that he kept for personal use with an Austin Public Library credit card. He racked up about $18,000 worth of electronics, video games, and other goods.

Security footage even showed Whited loading his car up with the printer toner. When an employee asked what he was doing, Whited said he was delivering the stuff to another branch of the library, but the report said that there are designated people for transferring materials between branches.

Whited also has five previous arrests for burglary and theft in the 1980's and 1990's.

Read more at The Olympian