Holly Wheatley, 36, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that she stole nearly $25,000 from the state while working for the Department of Resources and Economic Development. Wheatley is charged with adding her name to checks intended for vendors and then cashing them at her own bank.

While she was allegedly forging the checks and stealing the money, Wheatley was dating the office's married business manager, according to court records. He has not been implicated in the theft charges and is still employed at DRED.

As of yesterday afternoon, Wheatley, of Pembroke, had not posted her $25,000 cash or corporate surety bail and was being held at the Merrimack County jail, said jail Superintendent Ron White.

Wheatley, a single mother, had hoped for personal recognizance bail in order to attend a custody hearing next week for her 9-year-old daughter. Wheatley's attorney, Dan St. Hilaire, told Judge Larry Smukler that Wheatley is arranging alternate custody for the girl if Wheatley is convicted on the theft and forgery charges and receives a long prison sentence.

Wheatley has a lengthy criminal record that dates to 1996 and includes numerous thefts, according to court records. Assistant Attorney General James Boffetti detailed that history yesterday while requesting Wheatley be held on high, cash-only bail.

She has been convicted of multiple thefts in Grafton and Cheshire counties, he said.

She pleaded guilty in 2004 to stealing from the state, that time for committing welfare fraud from the state Department of Health and Human Services. She was collecting welfare while working several other jobs, one at Health and Human Services, according to court records.

Wheatley has served some prison time and has been ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution. But mostly she has received probation or suspended sentences. While on probation, she repeatedly broke the rules, Boffetti said. Some of the violations were for her conduct with the business manager and for using illegal drugs, Boffetti said.

The state alleges Wheatley began the recent string of thefts in December 2006 while working as a specialist for the technical assistance program. Boffetti said that on several occasions, Wheatley requested checks from the state treasury to pay two vendors who did business with her office.

Rather than have the checks sent directly to the vendors, Wheatley had them returned to her so she could purportedly pay the vendor, Boffetti said. Instead, Wheatley added her name to the payee line, endorsed the checks and cashed them, he said.

She is charged with 14 counts of felony theft and nine counts of felony forgery.

Smukler denied Boffetti's request for high, cash-only bail because nowhere does Wheatley's record indicate bail violations, he said. Nor has she failed to appear for court hearings in the past, he said.

With cash or corporate surety bail, Wheatley can pay $2,500 in cash and cover the rest by putting up property worth $25,000. Wheatley was accompanied in court yesterday by a male friend, but it was not her boyfriend, her attorney said.

Neither Wheatley nor her acquaintance spoke during the court proceeding. Wheatley requested the services of a public defender yesterday to handle future court proceedings. St. Hilaire can't continue to represent her, because his brother and new law partner, Ricardo St. Hilaire, was the Grafton County attorney when Wheatley was prosecuted there.

St. Hilaire said yesterday that he did not anticipate his brother joining his law firm when Wheatley first hired him several months ago.