By Associated Press
Catoosa, OK –
Catoosa, Okla., mayor: 2 indicted officials fired
CATOOSA, Okla. (AP) Mayor Rita Lamkin says Catoosa's assistant police chief and a county clerk have been fired following their indictment on federal drug crimes.
The mayor said Friday that 55-year-old court clerk Phyllis June Matthews was fired on Thursday, the day a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed at Tulsa.
Lamkin said she plans to notify 44-year-old assistant chief Paul Richard Whitmire of his dismissal as soon as she has a chance to call him into her office.
Whitmire faces three counts of illegally obtaining hydrocodone, a narcotic pain reliever. Matthews is charged with three counts of distribution of hydrocodone.
Sheriff Scott Walton said Thursday that others are involved in the case, including a former Catoosa police officer, and more arrests are possible.
Whitmire and Matthews pleaded not guilty Thursday and each was released on $5,000 bond.
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com