Bookeeper Pleads Guilty to Stealing Building Funds

A former bookkeeper has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $183,000 in labor union funds. Prosecutors say 70-year-old Joan Matthews of South Charleston entered the plea in federal court in Charleston to felony embezzlement and theft of labor union assets. Matthews admitted to stealing from the Charleston Building and Construction Trades Council from 2010 to 2014. The Council is comprised of local building construction trades unions and their members who work in West Virginia and the border counties of neighboring states. Matthews faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been set for Sept. 11.