ASPEN —A former attorney for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft for using a company credit card for personal benefit last year.
Walter Mathews IV, 53, has paid back RFTA and reached a plea bargain with the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, a prosecutor told Garfield County District Judge James Boyd.
“Mr. Matthews paid restitution in full, up front,” said Deputy District Attorney Anne Norrkin. “It was over $30,000 that he paid, and based on that, I’ve agreed to recommend that he serve no jail on either count as a condition of probation.”
Norrkin said it was her understanding that Mathews will ask for unsupervised probation so he can move to Florida
As part of the plea bargain, Norrkin amended the charges against Mathews. He previously faced one charge of felony theft. That was changed to one count of felony theft in an amount between $1,000 and $20,000 and one count of misdemeanor theft of an amount less than $1,000.
“He would be subject to a two-year deferred judgment sentence on the felony count,” Norrkin said. “The misdemeanor count would be a straight plea.”
