Samotria Matthews, the top deputy and closest ally of Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court Anna Maria Hodges, was arrested Thursday and is currently incarcerated in the Milwaukee County Jail, the Heartland Post has learned exclusively.
Sources tell the Heartland Post that Matthews was arrested during a raid at her home and is being held on potential drug charges. She is one of the longest-tenured employees at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and came out of a brief retirement in 2022 to join Hodges’ staff. Ironically, she had been serving as the senior admiinistrator for Milwaukee County Criminal Court.
“An individual holding an appointive position in the Clerk of Circuit Court’s office is in custody amid an investigation unrelated to her official duties,” Hodges told the Heartland Post. “Yesterday, I suspended this employee pending further developments in this matter, revoked all employee system access, and removed this employee from the website contact list.”
Hodges quietly removed Matthews from the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court staff page after learning of the arrest. It is unclear whether she would have informed the public about the reason for this removal had she not been contacted for comment.
“Since being informed of this investigation, I have been in contact with the District Attorney’s Office and county personnel staff to ensure that I am taking all necessary steps in connection with this matter,” Hodges said.
Matthews retired on July 1, 2022 and has collected a pension of $2,608.65 per month with a $53,775.13 backdrop in addition to her salary after she rejoined Milwaukee County government following Hodges’ election. The Milwaukee County Board made such “double-dipping” unlawful in 2011.
Hodges claimed that Matthews did not have a pension and demanded that the Heartland Post remove a reference to her potential double-dipping from this article. However, the Heartland Post has obtained Matthews’ pension amount, which proved Hodges was lying.
The arrest is a major setback for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s gubernatorial campaign, as he has faced significant questions about his management of the county. Earlier this year, his office allowed the county’s health insurance contract to lapse for nearly a month and did not inform the Milwaukee County Board.
Milwaukee County also faces a massive $50 million budget shortfall even after Crowley raised both property and sales taxes in the county and received an influx of state aid just two years ago.
He has not yet commented on the county’s top criminal court aid to the Clerk of Court allegedly being a criminal herself.
