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Aussie held over cruise theftAn Australian woman working as the chief purser on a luxury cruise ship has been charged in the United States with stealing $521,274 from the ship's safe and hiding it in her cabin.
Elisha Cuffe, 32, was arrested and escorted off the luxury liner Sapphire Princess in front of passengers after the ship docked at the Alaskan port city of Ketchikan last Thursday.
Cuffe, who gave her Australian address to authorities as East Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, has remained locked up in an Alaskan jail since her arrest.
She has been unable to meet bail and declined an offer from US authorities to contact the Australian consulate.
Alaskan state troopers allege Cuffe, a 10-year veteran of the cruise line, hid the cash in a cardboard box at the end of her bed.
The ship's security personnel became suspicious during their voyage from Vancouver, Canada, to Whittier, Alaska, when money from the safe, which Cuffe had access to, began disappearing, police said.
An investigation was launched onboard and Cuffe's room was searched.
"There were some discrepancies in the cash onboard beginning around May 20," said Greg Wilkinson, spokesman for the Alaskan State Troopers.
"She had been questioned about it, denied any knowledge of it.
"As part of the onboard investigation they asked to search her room and at that point they discovered the money in a cardboard box at the foot of her bed," he said.
The ship and its route is popular with tourists around the world, including Australians, as it takes passengers through the Gulf of Alaska providing views of the Glacier Bay National Park.
The FBI was alerted to the alleged theft by the ship's security personnel.
Alaskan state trooper Gary Webb, who was one of two troopers called by the FBI to interview Cuffe on the ship, said she admitted to taking the money to her room.
Cuffe, however, said she was not planning to flee with the cash, Mr Webb said.
"She said she had taken the money because the ship's computer was showing less money than was actually on hand in the safe," he said.
"She said she didn't have any plans on removing the money from the ship."
Cuffe appeared in Ketchikan District Court on Friday, where bail was set at $39,000 in cash.
She could not make the bail.
"At this point in time she is still being held at the jail. She is not out on bail," Mr Webb said.
Cuffe was charged with felony theft in the first degree.
If convicted she faces up to 10 years in jail and a $130,300 fine.
Her arrest is front-page news in Alaska.
"This a large sum of money for a theft case in Alaska," Mr Wilkinson said.
"We don't see thefts of over $US400,000 very often in Alaska."
The Sapphire Princess is one of the jewels of the Princess Cruises fleet.
It can carry 2760 passengers and offers 740 balcony staterooms for guests, four swimming pools, boutique shops and a spa.
The ship has toured the globe and has visited Australia.