Former Catoosa City Employee Accused Of Embezzlement

NewsOn6.com

CATOOSA, Oklahoma -- A former Catoosa Court Clerk busted for selling narcotics earlier this year is now suspected of embezzling more than $48,000 while employed with the City of Catoosa.

Phyllis Mathews plead guilty in May to three counts of distributing Hydrocodene. She was part of several Catoosa employees arrested in January on federal drug charges.

05/10/2010 Related Story: Former Catoosa Court Clerk Avoids Jail Time As Part Of Plea Deal

Mathews is now is at the center of an investigation by the State Auditor and Inspector office requested by city officials shortly after the arrests.

Read The Audit

Authorities say Mathews used a variety of methods over a period of time to skim money the city collected from court fines and municipal citations.

Mathews allegedly took cash payments people would make towards their court fine, then dismiss the citation or reduce the amount. The individuals with the citations remained unaware of Mathews' alleged actions.

State investigators say the City of Catoosa lacked oversight which gave Mathews and others the opportunity to steal thousands.

Mathews is the second municipal employee this year to be implicated in schemes to skim cash payments.